A Mother's Love
by Mercedes Wolfcry
Summary: A mother's love is a powerful thing. Sometimes it's so powerful that it will urge one to question death. Regardless of that, sometimes Tokiko questions the sanity of doing what she did. She was over forty- back in a body that had to go through the joys of puberty all over again. What she wouldn't do for her daughter... OC
1. Chapter 1

**(I have too many stories I need to work on and finish- most being Transformers related. But, alas, I have been plagued by this particular plot bunny for the past half a year. It's… Well, not quite a self insert so much as just an Oc I suppose. Self insert later? Not quite sure how to classify this thing. Anyways, here's to my bunny. May it live as long as it will, and inspire other ideas hopefully. My luck, I'm going to post it, and have low desire to write. I hope it's not so. Lemme know what you think, yeah?)**

"You ready for tonight, Mom?" Laura was positively giddy in her seat. In her hands, she had the newest box set of Naruto Shippuden, something that Laura had managed to get her mother into many years prior. Laura had watched most of the anime- but had missed something from the start of the forth war up until the end, as the website she had used crashed. Alas. But she figured she'd watch them eventually- likely in the English dub that Dina preferred. There were only a few different Anime that Dina had liked, Laura had learned, and Dina didn't touch anything that wasn't in English.

Subtitles were hard for her to read with her glasses though, so Laura didn't honestly mind catering to her Mom's health problem. Truthfully, Laura wasn't huge into reading the online manga either, so she was content to go slow with the episodes.

Dina laughed, carefully making the turn to leave town. She turned to offer her daughter a wide grin, glasses sliding down her nose. Laura was nearly a clone of Dina- though super sized. Dina was short- barely five foot one, bushy red hair and green eyes tucked in a freckled face. She was, as Laura lovingly teased, nearly a leprechaun. Laura was towering at six foot three, blue eyed and freckled. "Of course. When do we get to see that creepy Orochimaru copy bite the dust?"

"I dunno." Laura chimed. Truly, she didn't. The website had gone down just after Sasuke and Itachi had gone into the cave thing where Kabuto had made his lair. She'd heard via Fanfiction what had happened, but didn't really know firsthand what would happen. Fanfiction writers liked to make things different than canon. Not that Laura wouldn't do anything different- the Naruto world morbidly sucked. Anyone in their right mind would try and prevent such things from happening. "Probably soon. I think Itachi and Duckbutt kick his ass first."

Dina nodded, straightening as she moved through the intersection. She knew most of what her daughter knew- Laura loved to talk about it to her, tossing theories back and forth and informing Dina of back-stories of various characters. She'd heard about the Uchiha massacre, how prior Itachi had been Anbu and how her daughter was certain that Kakashi had been the one to be his captain. So many things she'd learned- sometimes Dina didn't think she'd remember it all.

Personally, Dina liked Kakashi. He was pretty hot, at least what little she could see. He was kind of an ass when he was younger, and she was glad when they had finished the ark where they got to see how he got his eye. He had been such a prick. Still, she felt so old when she thought about the fact she was forty five, going on forty six, and crushing on someone who was in his mid-twenties.

"Y'know, it really sucks about Itachi. He did all that stuff for his village, and they all thought him a criminal. It's just wrong."

A snort was Dina's answer. "Yeah, but plot wise, you've got to admit, that was pretty awesome. People suspected he might have been a good guy in a bad spot many times, but really, with some of the strange weirdos in the show…"

"Like that Hidan guy? Y'know, it so pisses me off that he kills the shadow kid's teacher."

"It makes you tear up every time we re-watch it, Mom. We have to keep so much tissue because you get all sobby on me- You're doing it now!" She accused with amusement. Lo and behold, her eyes were teary. "Even the mention of it makes you all sobby."

"Oh shush you," One hand on the wheel, Dina slid her hand up to rub her sleeve over her eyes. "He got what he deserved in the end, and you know it."

"I didn't say that he didn't- MOM! TRUCK!"

It was fast- a screech of tires, the loud sound of a log truck plowing into their little jeep. There was a sharp stab through the soft tissues of her middle, and the sensation of her lower half parting from her top as the windshield shattered against the pressure of the truck. Dina didn't even have time to see if her daughter was alright before she was a splattered smear. The darkness overtook her before she had the chance to cry out for her.

For a time, darkness was all she knew. She had time to reflect upon thoughts, memories, times she had with loved ones. Cliché, she knew, but she appreciated it all the same. Her thoughts kept straying to Laura and herself.

She'd raised Laura all on her own- a single mom who did what she could to make sure that Laura had everything that she needed. It ended with them being close, and she regretted that she wouldn't be able to see her little girl grow up now.

The darkness was consuming. Once she had no more memories to peruse, she simply floated, cold and numb. But eventually, she grew tired of the numbness. She wasn't sure what she was grasping for… but she grasped, and she pulled.

A voice murmured to her in the dark once she yanked, soothing and low. To Dina, it sounded like the creepy tentacle thing from Skyrim that Laura liked to muck with. "Mmmm, what are you doing? You needn't worry about your daughter- she mmmm, perished as well. You will miss nothing."

"But I still will miss it. If I'd have paid more attention… truckers don't pay enough attention to the little rigs sometimes…" She murmured.

The darkness drew in, blanketing a blackened form. It had a single blue eye, long curling horns that reminded her of a ram, and had long, long arms. The arms were tipped in fingers that seemed longer than her forearms- three long prongs, and a shorter thumb, that held glowing strands that zipped in and out of it's grasp. As she watched, it looked her up and down. She had a hold of what appeared to be a skirt or robe of some kind, obscuring whatever form of legs that held it up. Her hand was translucent, colorless and lacking all sense of feeling. "Mm… You are close with her."

"We are… I'm in no position to ask, but… whatever happens after death, can you please make sure I get to end up in heaven with her?"

"No, child." It seemed amused. "There is no heaven. There is no hell. There is only rebirth, and the multiple universes that make up everything. You have to go through many lifetimes until you will be back on this plane."

"I don't care," she rasped to him. Wicked green eyes glanced to the being, and she gave him a firm look. "Let me be with her. I brought her into this world- let me be with her in the next. She's my daughter- I love her. I would do anything to make sure I can protect her…"

"You have nothing to barter, nothing to trade. Your love is worth nothing in the grand scheme of things, but…" An amused warble left the thing, and she realized it didn't have a mouth. "But I like your spirit. Not many can grasp me amidst their transference to their next world. I will grant you a boon then. You will go many years without her first. Many, many. But she will be born to you again, should you manage to survive the perils and trials of the shinobi life. And I think… I think, you shall remember."

Relief fluttered through Dina, though confusion came next. "Shinobi…?"

The blankness of it's face suddenly split into a white grin, teeth jagged and horrifying as the skin split and parted. No lips formed- the skin simply pulled back over the teeth and gave a horrifying visage. "You didn't think your world was the only one, did you? Those few people who write of such worlds in your old one have been given compulsive glimpses of worlds for others to join. It is an endless cycle. Each soul is put into their own copy of a world in a language of their own- those few who are brave enough to reach out for the one who shunts them off are allowed to remember the before time. They are able to become more than a pawn. And you will remember, each and every world that you go through, as will your daughter. This will amuse me for some time, I think.

"Go now," he continued, dragging a string of light to a long fingered hand with only a motion. He took the string, and flung it onto her transparent hand. It burned, and her fingers seized. "be reborn. Learn. Love. Plot. Be at peace with the knowledge she will go with you, lifetime after lifetime. Be prepared for agony."

And then he took hold of her hand, his grip blazing hot, and tossed her from his person.

Dina fell, eyes closing in terror and mouth opening in a loud scream that no one would hear.

When she landed, she was suddenly in very large hands, her scream turning into a whimpering wail as her slick body was tugged into the outside world.

Dina fell, to land at her rebirth.

Her eyes wouldn't open, and her body wasn't in her control. Her ears picked up the sounds of someone drawing a rattling breath- a horrible noise that preludes death, before she was handed off to a dark haired man. Her wails faded, and her small, newborn body curled into him as he held her. Sound reached Dina, and she listened as best she could through guck clogged ears. It sounded… roughly like English, and if she was right about the last name… She was in one of the best villages she could be in.

"Nara, Susumu?" The one that had pulled Dina from fading female glanced to him. "You are the father, I presume? There is no hope for Uzumaki Ayane. Her child will go to the orphanage if you are not."

"Yes." He retorted sharply. "I am her father."

"Will you be claiming her as your bastard daughter?"

"Yes." His frown deepened at the healer, and a dark look was given in general.

As he cradled her, pulling his overcoat carefully over to cradle her damp frame, the man turned away from the ailing woman, and moved to the door of the hospital room.

Dina wasn't aware of the passage of time for a long while. The body of a baby wasn't built to handle a forty year old spirit settling into it- so she slept. When the body was awake, she wasn't much more than base instinct, for several months after. Her spirit needed to rest- she had died, only to be reborn seemingly moments later. She meditated, resting and getting a feel for the strange buzzing warmth that seemed too large to fit in her body. It was like her blood was alive with fire, in the weirdest of ways. Eventually, her resting self came to recognize it as chakra.

But one day months and months after her birth, amidst being lifted from her cradle, Dina snapped back into her mindset. She was lifted up to his face. The man that held her was young- couldn't be older than twenty. If he was even twenty. Dark, curly hair topped his head, worn in a frazzled braid. His hairline was surprisingly straight- his bangs were pulled back into the braid, but she could see the most vague hints of a cowlick along the front. His brows were blandly put, neither too bushy or too thin. Three scars curved over his cheek, tugging the left corner of his mouth into a permanently disappointed look, even as his mouth attempted to upturn into a smile at her. Brown eyes reflected the smile that his lips could not, as he brought her to his face and planted soft kisses on her cheeks.

A happy sound left her, unbidden, as she took control of her pudgy limbs to plant her hands on his cheeks. Her skin tone was much, much lighter than his. She was pale- almost ghostly white against the tanned skin that so contrasted it.

"My little Tokiko," he murmured. "So curious today, little one."

Tokiko. So Dina was now Tokiko. It wasn't the worst of names that she could have been given- she recalled there was a leader of a village named 'A'. Or something like that. Tokiko was a good name, and she showed it with a gummy smile.

Susumu settled her into his arm easily, cradling her against his chest. She fisted her pudgy fingers in the edge of his vest, and he took her to another room. He seated himself on a low couch, propping his feet onto the table as he rested her on his chest.

"Hige is coming to visit today. He should be here soon, in fact." He didn't baby-talk her, for which Tokiko was very thankful. She simply listened, eyes drifting to look around the room as he spoke. There wasn't much that was within her range of view. A shelf- some books, and a painting of a deer above it. On the shelf were a few photos, which she couldn't see clearly. "You haven't met Hige yet. He's my team mate- we're supposed to be meeting our new squad member in a few months. I think you'll like Hige. He's an Inuzuka."

She recognized the surname. Vaguely she recalled that there was one in Naruto's year, and he had a dog that was very small, but got massively large.

"Sachi is his canine companion. She's very smart- she might tag along today too. She had a litter of puppies, you see, so it depends on if she can get away from them for a couple hours. I think she'll like you. Her puppies are old enough that they don't need milk, but I've heard they're a wily bunch. She has to keep them in line."

Tokiko was sure she'd like Sachi. She'd always had a soft spot for animals- hence why she had always had hoards of cats. She fed all of the strays, along with her dogs. Lauren… Lauren was just like her with that. Dina had never been able to deny Lauren when the girl brought home strays.

Tokiko missed the next thing he said, but whatever it was, it made him laugh. She giggled in turn, trying to lift herself up with her pudgy arms. She didn't make it very far, but he seemed to sense her desire to move, and carefully moved her so she could sit on his lap.

Her neck felt stronger than it had when she had been born, and it only bobbled a little bit as she looked around. The room was very plain. There was another couch across from this one, the table in the middle containing a basic set for some weird board game. The wall across opened up into a secluded garden- brick walls raised tall above the grassy expanse outside. It was surprisingly well-groomed, and had a few plants of some kind growing near the wall.

"Toki," Susumu drew her attention again, and she glanced to him curiously. "You're so curious today. Usually you're fussing to go back to your room. Tired of being a hermit, my little Tokitoki?"

She wasn't sure what was amusing, but she giggled at him anyways. "Uwah." She bobbled her head in a general 'yes' meaning, before wiggling in his arms as she heard a bark from outside.

"That would be Sachi." He smiles lightly.

Toki's eyes go wide as she watches the shadows under his feet darken. That was positively fascinating! His shadow stretched, and it wrapped around what she assumed was a door knob. The sound of it clicking open was almost drowned out by the sounds of dog claws skittering on wooden flooring.

"I'm home!" Hige rapped his knuckles on the door to announce himself unnecessarily, before he closed the door.

Sachi was the first one in her line of sight- and Sachi took up most of it. The canine was massive- and reminded her greatly of a Great Dane sized husky. Mostly black and white, the massive ball of fur bore a set of still-shrinking milk-teats, and a curious nose that butted right into Toki's face.

Promptly, Toki wiggled her hands free, and sunk them into the soft fluff with a content burble.

"Pup smells happy," Sachi nearly startled Tokiko when she spoke, but the easy going woman rolled with it.

"With her fingers in your fur, I can't imagine why she wouldn't be." Susumu hummed.

Hige didn't bother taking the other couch- he sat himself next to Susumu as he always did. He leaned over, and stoke Tokiko away from the motherly fluff that was his companion. "Hello Toki-chan!" He beamed at her. Hige was a typical Inuzuka. Red cheek marks, tousled brown hair, murky eyes, average skin tone, and fanged smirk to complete the bundle. "Gods above, Susumu, she looks like my cousin. Look't that! She's getting her hair in too. Got your father's hair though, didn't you, you adorable little mutt?"

The peach fuzz astride her head was promptly rumpled, much to her burbling displeasure.

"She's not a mutt," Susumu sighed.

"I'm inclined to think so, friend of mine." He leaned forwards to nudge his nose with hers, and then run his fingers along her gums. "She's quite a fine mix. Ayane was half Inuzuka, if you remember. I think your little one might get some sharper teeth come teething time."

Susumu was less than thrilled, but he nodded. "Hard not to. I've got plenty of scars from her attempting to put me into my place with nips. Between me and you, we discovered that Uzumaki and Inuzuka shouldn't commingle bloodlines. Ever. The lot of you make a bullheaded and stubborn sort of woman."

"Ah, but you enjoyed her feisty nature outside of the battle field," A waggle of brows prompted Toki to accidentally smack Hige in the face. Baby of body she might be, but she didn't need to hear innuendos about the man who's loins helped create her body. He laughed. "She's going to be just like Ayane."

Sachi snorts. "I hope not. She was too untrained to bond with one of us. I don't know if your little one has enough of our clan blood to bond with a pup. If she does, I have one I mind."

"I would be honored if she could bond with her heritage. She deserves to know. But… I think we should keep her Uzumaki side quiet."

"They seem to go missing if they've got the blood, don't they?" Hige snorts. "We'll help keep it quiet. Other than having Ayane's eyes, she doesn't have the Uzumaki red hair. More of a reddish brown."

The canine moves to the second couch, content to relax and stretch out along the full length. "Like when Hige eats too many beets." She comments offhandedly. "I will bring by the pup once yours has started to walk. They are too rowdy to be around her until she can move for herself. She will bear scars like your face if she's around them too young. If they are compatible, the pup will remain with you. If not, I will gather my offspring and return."

Hige simply nods. He relaxes, letting Toki explore his vest while sprawling out. "So, how did the clan take you bringing her home?"

There was a displeased rumble from Susume. "As well as you can expect. They're less than pleased that I brought home a bastard. But, what can you expect? Ayane didn't let us know she was pregnant until she was in labor. She didn't really show, if you recall, and she was no moodier than normal. I didn't have the time to wed her good and prior, honestly. The clan council knows this."

The Inuzuka frowns, but nods. It was horrible when she'd gone into labor. He'd hoped Susume had gotten her back in time- but he'd received a letter during his mission to let him know that he'd lost a teammate due to complications. "Will the clan allow her to take your name?"

A relived nod leaves the other. "That is something they consented to, yes. It took some convincing, but she is indeed a Nara."

"I would have petitioned to get her into the Inuzuka otherwise." The surprisingly short brunet sighs. "You know as well as I that I can't train her in my clan's techniques, but once she comes into her chakra, let me know. She might be a mutt, but her nose is going to be more sensitive. She'd be good for tracking with it."

"I was thinking of pushing more for intelligence with her, or research and development. Safer work." Neither of them wanted to lose the last bit of Ayane that they had. "Ultimately, it will be up to her once she's of schooling age."

"Ultimately so, indeed." Hige nods. There was a rather gross noise from the baby in the Inuzuka's lap, and then the man was hastily shoving the little one back into her father's lap. "That is an emergency number two. I'm not on diaper duty."

Toki merely flushed. She hadn't been paying much mind to her bodily functions, until her body simply let go. She wished now that she could have skipped the entirety of her childhood development.

Diaper changes were one of the most traumatic things that could happen to an adult in a child's body. Tokiko resolved to potty train herself as soon as she could walk, so as to avoid any more unpleasant instances.

Days crawled by into weeks, weeks to months, months to years, as Tokiko grew and became more mobile and self-reliant. In the end, she wasn't a good match for a canine companion- but that didn't stop her from gallivanting and romping through the gardens with the exuberant pack of hounds that sometimes tagged along with Sachi.

For the most part of her childhood, she was kept in seclusion however. But once or twice when her father would take her to Hige or Dai, their newest team mate, she had gotten to see other villagers, and other children. Toki figured out her seclusion had more to do with her status than with Susumu being overprotective. She didn't mind, though. Susumu was gone often anymore- something about border problems happening at the edge of their country.

Her brief excursions were also how Toki figured out that she wasn't quite at the start of the show. She got to see glimpses of the Hokage mountain- and it was adorned with only three faces. Meaning, she was sometime before Minato took the office. It gave her time, and an idea to carry out. The stronger she could get, the more likely she would survive the coming events and the more likely it would be that Toki would survive to see Laura again.

He trained her rigorously once he caught her trying to stick to the wall so she could get something off of a high shelf. Katas and hand signals were the majority of her teachings- though minor chakra control happened as well. When he wasn't in the house, she was tasked with sticking things to herself at random times- and if it fell off before a certain amount of time Toki had to go through a set of katas, and then try again. She had to test her mind as well- reading books that weren't even remotely child oriented, playing shogi and go with whoever was babysitting her at the time.

Whatever new perks this ninja child body had, Toki felt herself absorbing everything like a particularly dry sponge in a rainstorm. Her muscles felt stronger than they had in her old body- her brain faster, retaining more and remembering more than it had used to. She came up with ideas and plots that she never could have imagined before. Learning kanji had come easy.

It all paid off. Her first day at the academy was coming soon. She was entering early- at the age of four instead of five- something she was exuberant about.


	2. Chapter 2

**(Here I am, just as surprised as whoever reads these. Wham. Chapter two. I am horrible about writing long things, so this might just be fucktons of little chapters. It was hard to make the last chapter as long as it was. Well, woop. Also, sorry if the last chapter had weird timeshifts. Apparently Fanfiction doesn't like it when I use multiples of '-' to make a page break. ( Stupid website. Ugh. Anywho, enjoy chapter two. It's gonna go pretty quick through her childhood, because honestly nothing interesting happens until graduation and team assignment. Just growth, learning, and other usual stuff that happens with kids.. Also ignore the number line. I'm trying to use it for a pagebreak since the other one failed.)**

Back when Dina had been younger, she'd had a horrible disliking for children. It wasn't something she'd grown out of until her biological clock came ticking, and she decided that she wanted one of her own. But now, back in a classroom surrounded by no less than thirty children who were all a year older than her- physically at least- found Tokiko with the exact same disturbed sensation she'd had back in her prior youth.

Children were intolerable and had no sense of personal boundaries most times. Ninja children were almost worse.

Even the clan children, for the most part, were completely incompetent to start. Actively, Toki recognized a few very important faces. One, was a boy who looked damn near like Naruto, minus the whiskers. The neon yellow hair was a huge sign just of where she was going to be at in the timeline- and just what sort of thing she needed to expect in her future. There was another few Nara children- including one that she swore up and down was Shikamaru- but they were hardly better. Shikaku was by far the least intolerable of them, but even he was pulled into various shenanigans of the classroom. When the clan heir wasn't busy with other students, he was usually palling around with a Yamanaka and an Akamichi. Inoichi and Chouza, she thought. She wasn't sure. She didn't bother talking with Minato either- at this age, he still laughed with his classmates when they made poop jokes.

She didn't care to bother with them until they matured some. It wasn't like there was one who was alienated- if there had been one who was shunned, she'd have taken it upon herself to befriend them just for the principle of it.

Toki threw herself headlong into studies, pestering her sensei for more materials once she ran out of the classroom issued ones. On top of clan training, it kept her beyond busy. She didn't have time to socialize, despite what her classmates seemed to think. Toki became the only Nara in her age group that wasn't lazy, and didn't mutter 'troublesome' when put to a task. She became known as the Nara with drive.

Most lunch breaks, she spent her time eating quietly, and pouring anything she could read into her mind. Amidst that, the bench she usually commandeered was always eventually swarmed by curious brats who wanted to see what she was up to.

Today was no different- though it was only one who wandered over.

This one wanderer was bold however. The kid took a seat next to her book, and leaned down to flip the page for her, though she wasn't done yet. "Hi!" He smirked at her.

Her nose crinkled, and she glanced up to give him a dirty look. "Hi. What do you need?"

"Nothing! Just curious. You're a Nara, aren't you?"

"What of it?"

"Well, I've played with the other Nara kids many of times, and none of them look like you. You're so… Different looking." The boy pondered her for a moment, before sticking a hand out to her. "I'm Uchiha Ahichu,"

She paused, mind whirling, but accepted the slightly dirty hand to shake. He was fairly dirt covered- not something usually seen among Uchiha. They were ridiculously good at keeping clean when scuffling, which meant he might have been taken by surprise when they'd done some minor sparring earlier in class. His black hair had a slightly brown sheen to it- and a clump of grass, which meant her idea prior might have some merit. The only thing not dulled by dust was his eyes- which were the same shiny black that the majority of Uchiha had. She actually liked his eyes- they were sort of like a very shiny obsidian mirror. "… Isn't that just Uchiha backwards?"

"So? My Mom and Dad wanted something different and original." He sniffed briefly crossing his arms as if he expected her to make fun of it. "Better than Rai or something dumb."

"I suppose so. It does give you points for originality."

The dismissive answer is all she gave in turn, before turning her attention back to her book. She wasn't allowed to do so for very long, because moments later, a dirty finger pressed into her forehead and made her look up.

"So, what's your name? I can't just call you Nara, since there's so many of your cousins, and you don't talk to anyone. I'd look like a weirdo if I asked Sensei."

"Tokiko. I'm Nara Tokiko." She batted his hand away, and scrubbed her forehead. She didn't need Susumu asking questions or prodding her about why she was coming home with a brown smudge dead center of her forehead.

He nods, and flashes her a smirk. "Toki then."

She flashed her teeth at him- not a smirk, but more like she would when Sachi's pups were getting on her nerves. "I get to call you Ahi then."

And suddenly there were fingers in her mouth, holding her lips up and poking her teeth. "You have really pointy teeth!" Ahi exclaims. "You look like Tsume!"

She bats his fingers out of her mouth, and rinses the taste of fingers out with a drink from her juice. "And you have no concept of personal space. Yes, I have fangs." Passing her tongue over them idly, the Nara gives the Uchiha a bland look. "My mother was of Inuzuka blood. Now please keep your fingers to yourself."

He wiped his fingers off on his shorts, and then stole something out of her bento. Not that she minded- Susumu tended to feed her like she was an Akimichi, not a Nara.

To which she needed anyways. She kept busy enough that whatever she ate, she usually burned off by dinner time. It all went to feeding that growing sensation in her body. Susumu told her it was her chakra coils growing, storing more and more chakra as she aged. He informed her that he expected her to have rather large stores- on account of her Mother's rather large stores.

"Sure, sure. So, you're a mix of different bloods then? Do you have a ninja hound companion?"

"That's not really any of your business, Ahi. But no, I don't. I didn't mesh well enough with them to bond with one." Which was alright with her. She wanted a summons when she was older, and didn't want to make a ninja hound jealous. They would do more than chew through her morning slippers, she's very sure.

He frowns lightly, but nods. "That still bites. Puppies are adorable. More of a cat person myself though. They have such soft paws!"

She snorts, but offers him a slight smile. "I like animals in general."

"Then that's something we share!" He grins. His fingers steal forwards again, and he plucks a tomato out of her lunch. He pauses before he eats it though, and makes a face. "Aww, I got a tomato. Gross."

Lauren hadn't liked eating anything with tomato in it either. Toki felt an unfortunate fondness starting in her chest for the Uchiha. She reached out with her chopsticks to take the tomato back, and handed him a piece of sushi instead. "You know, if you just asked to have some of my lunch, you could pick through whatever you wanted and I wouldn't mind."

"Really?" He beams at her. "Thanks, Toki!"

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Really, she needed to not feed the strays, because, as Tokiko found, they just kept coming back, Consecutively, Ahi always found her during lunch, and took to sitting with her through most of it. He did, actually, bring his own lunch most days, so they usually shared because her bento was always massively overstuffed. His surprisingly contained mostly spicy food- so she always nibbled bits of that too. It was nice to be able to enjoy spicy food again without getting almost immediate heartburn like she had as Dina.

Toki found that she didn't honestly mind Ahi's company. He was a bit immature, but he was learning fast that she didn't find most of the childish antics funny. So mostly they talked, or studied, or practiced things on each other.

He was a great sport about her using her clan jutsu on him. She was very good at getting him with shadow possession, but she had issues keeping it going for a long time. Most of the problem lay in the fact she was still an academy student- her chakra stores were still maturing. But by using them up through out the day, it gave them room to expand and grow and for her to flex her chakra muscles, so to speak. She had a good grasp on it already, and was keen if there was a sudden drop in it or if it spiked for whatever reason.

In return, she helped him with hand signs and practicing them. He was trying to learn some of the Katon that his clan were known for, but he wasn't very fast with hand signs. His chakra usually burnt out before it could be exhaled, because he stumbled over the hand signs so often.

So he would practice, and she would correct him. If he failed, he had to eat a tomato, so his incentive was good for learning.

That was how she worked through most of her first few years in the school, all the while growing taller and stronger for her age. Her dark hair had grown out, trailing down to her backside in a large growth spurt that required it to be put up most days. Konoha was warm enough that she had to keep it either braided, or in a ponytail like today so she wouldn't get heatstroke. Not that she minded- She didn't look good with short hair. It was too bushy, like her father's, to be worn short. Her toddler days had seen her with an afro until it was long enough to weigh itself down.

Their little duo become something of a trio in their third year. Kushina Uzumaki came to their class in the middle of the year, and Tokiko was indeed surprised that her hair was that red of a red.

The firecracker redhead got into fights on her first day, already finding her place in the pecking order. Most of the boys tormented her, and the girls shunned her, much to Toki's disgust. Of course, she was brash and blunt and everything that a Kunoichi probably shouldn't be, but that didn't give the brats the right to harass her.

Come lunch, when she and Ahi were supposed to continue their usual routine, Toki decided to take the initiative. "Hey, red head!" Only one kid who's hair was red enough would respond to it.

As she suspected, Kushina tensed, and glared at her once she exited the door. "What?"

"What are you doing, Toki? She'll pummel you!" Ahi whispered at her back.

"You want to come eat lunch with me and Ahi?" Toki offered her a sharp-toothed grin. To Ahi, she whispered lowly through her teeth. "You extended me a hand, and we became friends. The other's are all assholes, you know that."

She looked suspiciously at her, but approached. "What's the catch, y'know? I gotta give you all my lunch or something?"

"Gods no, if I ate more than my dad packs, I'd explode." Toki waved a hand blandly. "Come, sit with us. If you don't like today, you don't have to eat with us tomorrow if you don't like."

The lure worked, and soon Toki was surrounded on both sides. The bench was going to be too small eventually, but they'd work on a different location later. For now, Toki plonked her book onto the surface, and munched on rice while Ahi rummaged through her bento for some sushi. Kushina sat on her other side, watching her suspiciously as she ate some of her lunch. She had rice, and some yakitori, but nothing to massive as Toki's box.

"Why do you have so much food if you're a Nara?" She inquired bluntly, cursing herself moments later for her rude words.

Toki simply shrugged. "You'd have to ask my dad. He apparently thinks I'm an Akimichi. But I don't mind. It means I can share with Ahi and you too, if you want some. Dad makes the best sushi." A piece is offered to the redhead, and she offers a smile.

Kushina is startled at the lack of reprimand for her words, but she takes the sushi without much fuss. She's not overly fond of sushi- preferring noodles mainly- but it is indeed better than most she's had. A flush fills her face without her meaning to. "Thanks, y'know…"

Toki simply grins. "No problem. So… I'm Tokiko in case you were wondering. We already know you, miss future Hokage."

The blush deepens without her meaning to. "It's nice to meet you, Tokiko…"

"Call her Toki!" Ahi grins. "I do. I'm Uchiha Ahichu. Don't comment on my name, and I wont call you a tomato. Deal?"

They shake on it, as Toki expected, and then fall quiet. "You can call him Ahi, by the way. He's not bad for an Uchiha."

"Only 'cause you help me with my hand signs. I've gotten better- I'm almost as fast as you!"

Kushina looked confused. "I thought Uchiha were naturally superior… That's what everyone else says, y'know?"

Toki almost inhales her juice as she snorts. "Not quite. Ahi here is a special case. He has talent, but he just has to work for it."

He grins at them regardless. "Mhm. Toki helps me a lot with my hand signs, and she practices her shadow stuff on me. Toki can probably help you too, if you want."

"I don't need any help, y'know!" Kushina exclaims.

"But if she does need help, I'll be here to do it. That's what friends are for, right?"

Ahi nods enthusiastically, and stuffs a piece of sushi into his mouth. "Ya!"

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Susumu showed up after school to walk her home, like he usually did. This time, while he looked worse for the wear and was covered in bloodstains, he tossed Toki up onto his back, and toted her home piggy-back style. She took the time to take his hair out of it's usual braids, comb it, and put it up into a ponytail. It always relaxed him when she did this- and seeing as he came to her with stitches down the side of his face, Toki figured he could use some relaxation.

He'd changed in the years too. His face was clean shaven still, but his hair was longer. It brushed below his shoulder blades when it was let down, even longer than that when it was wet. He bore no new scars that Toki knew of, but he did walk with a slight limp on super cold days. Old wounds sucked. His face was usually light hearted, and he always gave her some sort of smile when they met up. He couldn't always be there to walk her home, but whenever he could, he always took the option to do so. Today though, she wasn't met with a smile. More of a grimace than a smile.

She kept quiet until they got home. Once he let her down and settled on the couch with a heavy grunt, Toki took it as a go-ahead for talking. Settling on the floor between his legs, she handed up a comb from the table, and let him start to fuss over her hair. It had gotten long, and he usually worked it for her. It helped him relax- something he'd used to do for her mom too, he'd informed her once.

"Mission gone bad, Dad?"

Susumu sighed heavily. "You could say that, Toki. Cornrows?"

"Yes please, Dad." They would help her later this week, when she was supposed to spar with Kushina. She'd seen the girl fight earlier today- she was not above hair pulling, and Toki wanted to give her as little advantage as possible. "So…?"

"So what?"

She pinched his shin, and huffed like the child her body was. "What's got you so grim?"

His breath puffed over her head, and he sighed loudly. "Dai's in the hospital, Toki. They said he's going to make it, but they don't know if he'll be a ninja again. He broke his spine."

Dai was their third team mate, and built like a mountain. Dai wasn't a clan ninja, and as far as Toki knew, he didn't have any family living. That didn't stop the man from being a ray of sunshine. He was an odd one, for dark skin wasn't something that one often saw in Konoha. Dai was one she would all African American, if she'd been back in her world. He wasn't the darkest of dark skins, but more of a mocha. He was also covered in a massive lot of fuinjutsu tattoos that he did himself, all done in damn near white ink. Whatever dark things Dai had to do, Dai still kept his radiant smile.

"Well, if he can't be a ninja, then he can still be a tattoo artist." Toki supplied quietly. "He does the best tattoos ever, and you know it."

Susumu sighed again, and finished his daughter's hair. "I do, but to be taken off the force is…"

"Shameful?" She supplied. "I think that's stupid. If you get taken off because of some wounds, it means you did your job and you served your village. It should be an honor. Oh! Dad, he could stay here!" She beams. "I know Dai isn't clan, but he's going to need someone to support him until he can get on his feet and do tattoos for other ninja and civilians. Isn't team technically family?"

"If you skew the rules a bit, it does mean that your team is technically family by law." He hums.

"It's not like the clan can be angrier with you." Toki points out. "You kept me against their wishes, don't you? If the clan can accept a bastard child, then they can accept a crippled team mate."

There was a sharp tug on her braids. "Bastard is a bad word, Toki." He scolds. "How do you know about that anyways? We don't talk about it."

She snorts. "C'mon Dad, I'm not a moron. You don't have a wedding band, and I don't remember you ever having a tan line for one. Mom's photo doesn't have a wedding band either, and there's no marriage photos either. There's always wedding photos." She turns to face him, and sticks her tongue out. "Plus the elders talk. I'm the only child born out of wedlock in my generation."

"Sometimes I wish you weren't as smart as you are, Toki." He makes a face, and lifts her into his lap. She snuggles up against him as if she were a toddler again, and Susumu leans back to contemplate her idea. It wouldn't be the first time someone in the clan had taken in an injured team member, but it would be two strikes they had against him. He was already low on the rung of status, but status rarely mattered to a Nara.

"You know if I do this, you're going to have to help him when I'm not home to do so, right? Baths, cooking, in and out of bed… Until he can get used to it, right? There's still the odd chance they might be able to fix his back, too."

"I can do it, and I know. I just want us to be prepared in case he can't walk. All of the books I've read state that a spinal issue is very, very rarely correctable. Even the Legendary Tsunade can't always do it, Dad." She had been an in-home-care worker back as Dina. Her client, Doris, had needed help to do everything. Walk, bathe, use the bathroom, get up. She was well versed in taking care of someone who couldn't do it for themselves. "Besides, he likes my cooking."

"You and all of your strange dishes. I don't even know where you got the idea for some of that stuff, Toki." He presses a soft kiss to her forehead, and she smiles into his chest. "I'm proud of you, you know that? You're such a bright girl… You'll be a wonderful shinobi once you graduate."

"I know, Dad. I'm proud of you too. You managed to remember to put the seat down this morning." She teased him lightly.

He chortled. "Well, better than to let your backside get dunked."

"Mhm. Hey, Dad? Is Dai well enough for us to bring him some of my cooking?"

"He'll be out of surgery this evening, so sure. What did you want to make for him?"

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Dai was, unfortunately, removed from the active roster permanently. He lost the use of his legs, and came to live with Tokiko and Susumu once he was released from the hospital. His smile wasn't a bright for the first few weeks, but eventually he got back that unbending force of will that he was known for. Toki helped him with everything he needed at first- baths, showers, getting in and out of his wheel-chair, cooking. Slowly he got used to the swing of things, and she didn't have to help him as often.

Showers, for one, she didn't need to help him with. He had enough money left from his mission to purchase a shower chair- so she no longer had to go in with him and hold him up.

That had been very awkward, considering she was a young kid- going on seven- and was only just taller than his hips. Her adult mind did supply that he was very well endowed, however.

Dai got back into the swing of training- because in his opinion, even if he was crippled, his hands worked just fine, and he had the chakra to operate his wheelchair without using his hands. If ever they were invaded, the twenty year old man would do his best to keep her and the civilians safe. In that training, he taught Toki how to walk on trees- so she could help him learn to use his chair vertical- and how to walk on water so when he got stuck on the pond, she could go fetch him.

She had to fetch him often- his chair didn't do so well over the rocks that surrounded the pond.

Eventually he got his tattoo business going too, and set up shop out of a back room in their house. So there was a lot of traffic in their home most days, as old clientele, and new clients started to come by for touchups on tattoos, seals, and what have you. Toki managed to convince him to do a tattoo for her, because apparently there was no age limit if one wanted to be a ninja. She had a red rose put on her left ankle.

The years roll by again, and soon enough, graduation approaches. In the end, the duo had become a trio, and Kushina came to sit with them the next day, and the day after that. Toki assisted her with her studies, and finds that, like herself, Kushina had a massive reserve of chakra that continues to grow, so Kushina assisted in tiring Toki out.

The test was laughably easy. At the age of ten, Toki's chakra capacity and control had massively improved. Replacement jutsu was easiest to master, followed by transformation, and then clone. Ahi breezed through first, and took a black headband to show off to his group of lady friends. Kushina took the standard blue headband when she passed, and she wore it like a champ. Tokiko took a blue one as well, tying it to her forehead and under her braids with little issue.

The team assignments came next, and Toki found herself in a room with a little less than half of her prior team. Most of the non-clan ninja had failed. There was, of course, the same yellow mop of hair that marked Minato as a successful genin.

Their Sensei, a short balding man who went by Yu, sat them down to inform them that, due to the number of students who had passed, there would be ten teams, and the teams had already been decided. They had no choice in who they would be paired with, nor in their sensei.

"Team one," Yu continued, "Will be Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chouza, and Yamanaka Inoichi. Your sensei will be-"

"Hey, Toki!" There was an elbow in her side that caught her attention, and Toki glanced over to Ahi. "You think we'll be on a team?"

"I don't know, Ahi." She announced lightly. "They rarely assign two kunoichi to a team… But they might. We're more of an assault team than anything, if they take us three."

"I hope they do. I can't imagine not working with you two." He makes a face. "Everyone else is beyond dumb."

"Shh!" Kushina bumped him. "I can't hear Sensei over your yammering, Ahi."

Obediently, both of them quieted.

"-are dismissed. Now, Team Seven will be Namikaze Minato, Suruchi Toka, and Meiru Noboni. Your Sensei will be Jiraiya of the Sanin. He'll meet you at training ground four. You are dismissed." Yu flipped the page, peering down at the names as the three students got up to leave. "Team eight will be Nara Tokiko, Uchiha Ahichu, and Uzumaki Kushina. Your Sensei will be Inuzuka Hige, and he is expecting to meet you on the roof. You are dismissed."

"Uncle Hige!" Toki grinned. Snagging Ahi's sleeve, and Kushina's hand, the Nara started to tug them out of the room. "C'mon! You can meet Hige- he's awesome!"

"You already know our Sensei?" Kushina blinked. Neither of them fought against the excited Nara, instead moving to keep pace so as not to be drug by their respective handholds.

"I do. He's one of Dad's old genin squad. He's been contemplating village duty for a while since Dai got hurt." The stairs were a breeze, and then they were out on the roof.

"Is he awesome?" Ahi inquired.

"He is! Sachi!" Tokiko let out a happy laugh, and was promptly tackled by a growling ball of fur. She let go of her team, and happily embraced the massive motherly canine.

"You've gotten bigger, pup." Sachi draped over her like a bear-skin rug, and covered her in affectionate kisses. "I'm glad to have you as pack. Are your snot-nosed friends as polite as you?"

"They're awesome too, Sachi." She grinned "That's Ahi, and Kushina. Guys, this is Sachi. She was my babysitter many times when I was little."

"One doesn't stop babysitting you just because you've gotten taller, brat." A nip to Toki's ear had the girl laughing.

A sharp whistle had Sachi removing herself and trotting back to Hige. He dropped down, and took a seat on the fence that surrounded the roof. Hige flashed them all a roguish grin, and crossed his legs at the ankles. "I'm sure you brats are aware I'm your Sensei by now, yeah?"

"Y-yeah, y'know." Kushina stuttered quietly, and hefted Toki up by her armpits. "Toki called you Uncle Hige?"

"Mhm. But that's for off duty. I'm Hige-Sensei now. You can just call me Sensei though. Much easier than Hige-Sensei. This is Sachi, my ninja hound. Yes, her bark is just as bad as her bite. Now, gather around. I want to hear about all of you, before I tell you about myself and what this team is going to mainly do."

The trio gathered around him as Hige settled on the top of the roof. Sitting down, and leaning back against Sachi, Hige waited as his students settled around him like little ducklings.

"So we're supposed to tell you our likes, dislikes…?"

"Dreams for the future, hobbies, and anything you want to share. I'll do the same. He grins. "Toki, why don't you go first so they can know what to do."

"But we're best friends." She blinks. "We already know most of that about each other." Dreams and stuff was different- they hadn't mentioned it.

"But I don't know those two. So, it's for me, and for you." He hums. "Now, Toki."

"Yes, Sensei." She sighed. She shifted, crossing her legs, before speaking again. "I'm Nara Tokiko, nine years old, and I prefer to be called Toki. I like to eat, and to train, and I like to tire myself out with training, and I also like to snuggle animals of any kind. Also I think tattoo's are pretty cool, and I plan to get a few more as time goes on. I dislike sour foods, morons, and people who look down at me just because I'm a bastard. My hobbies include tending the deer on occasion, training, reading theory books and other things, and spending time with Ahi and Kushina. It's also a hobby of mine to kick their asses, and get mine kicked in turn. Dreams… Well, I want to be a kick ass strong kunoichi, before becoming a mom."

Ahi blinks. "I didn't know you wanted to become a mom. That's actually kinda sweet. You'd be a good mom."

She grins to him. "Thanks, Ahi. Your turn!"

The Uchiha hums, but nods. "Alright! I'm Uchiha Ahichu, and I like to be called Ahi. I'm ten years old, and didn't know I was older than Toki until a few minutes ago. I dislike when people make fun of my name, or make fun of Kushina just 'cause she's got red hair and a temper, and I really don't like it when people call Toki a bastard. Also, I really, really hate tomatoes. They're super gross. I really like Toki's Dad's Sushi, animals, my friends, and training with Toki. Not so much Kushina. She kicks me in the balls too often." He side-eyed her, and pursed his lips when she laughed. "I don't really have many hobbies besides doing clan training, and helping Toki when she wants to try out jutsu on me. My dreams for the future… I want to have the best sharingan ever!"

"Typical boys," Kushina snorts. "I'm Uzumaki Kushina, ten years old, and I really like Toki and Ahi. I like ramen, because it's the food of the gods, and I suppose Toki's Dad's sushi is actually good for sushi. I dislike being called tomato, or getting made fun of, and a certain girly blond boy because he's useless when others are teasing me. I suppose my hobbies include eating ramen, training with my friends, and beating up the morons who tease me. I have one dream, and I'm going to make it a reality. I'm gonna be the first female Hokage, y'know!"

Hige claps. "That's all very good and very interesting!" He says. "I'm going to do my best to make sure all of your dreams become realities- but it's going to be a hell of a time for you kids. Sachi, you want to share too?"

The dog harrumphed, but nodded. "Sure. I'm Sachi- Just Sachi. I'm twenty five, which is beyond old in dog years. I like my dog food, and really like it when I get belly rubs. It's also really fun to chase down my foe and make them scream in agony under my fangs. I dislike cats, rats, and bats, and the long time it takes for my litters of pups to grow up. My hobbies are being a breeding bitch for my clan, going on missions with Hige, and being a mom. Naps too. I like those as well." She curls her lips, and chuffs. "I don't have any dreams. I'm content with life as it is."

"Which is good." Toki nods. "Being content is always good."

Hige agrees fully. "Alright, my turn. I'm Inuzuka Hige, I am twenty six. I like to spend time with my team, and I like to train. I really like some of the food that Toki makes, and I like to snag it early from the kitchen before she can scold me. I dislike strong smells, stinky feet, and losing team mates. My hobbies include keeping up with my old team, training, doing missions, and soon it'll include handling you bunch. My dreams… I want to get married in a few years, have a couple kids, and maybe retire and work at my clan's veterinary clinic."

Toki nods- she knew most of that. The others didn't, and they learned quite a bit from it. Still, the others stayed quiet, waiting for Hige to continue. He had been the one to say he would tell them what their team would be for after.

"Now, I have a question for you three. What sort of team do you think this is going to be?"

Toki shrugged. "Probably some sort of combat? I'm not good at tactical things or planning attacks."

"Tracking?" Ahi offered. "You've got Sachi, so…"

"Definitely combat, y'know. I'm good a fuinjutsu, so I can make lots of explosive seals. Maybe demolition?"

"Toki had it right. We're a frontline team- I'm going to be helping you three become heavy hitting monstrosities in the field. Usually a team is rounded off with one Taijutsu specialist, a Genjutsu user, and a Ninjutsu user, but I am going to demand that all three of you be able to fill whatever position needed. People are going to make misleading assumptions of us because we have two women on the team- and we're going to show them that there is no weaker sex as far as shinobi are concerned."

Toki nods. "Nara aren't known for being tanks, but I think I've got the chakra to back it up."

"Not yet you don't, but by the time I am done with you three, you're going to be forces to reckon with." The man shifted, and dug three pieces of paper out. Passing one to each of his students, Hige motioned for them to use it. "Put chakra into the paper, please. I want to see what nature you all are, so I can figure what jutsu you're going to be learning before you hit chunin."

Doing as told, each of the three kids had a different reaction. Ahi yelped as his caught fire, and he dropped it quickly. Kushina's split down the center, but grew slightly soggy along the end. Toki's crinkled up, before becoming sopping wet.

She dropped it on top of Ahi's paper to extinguish it.

"Two dual natured, and a fire type." Hige mused. "Not bad. Kushina, it would appear you're primarily wind and secondarily water natured- which is fairly rare, but not unheard of given your heritage. Toki, you're lightning and water natured, fairly evenly mixed based on how your paper turned out. You'll be good for concussive destruction. Ahi, fire. Which, is expected- Uchiha are rarely anything but fire."

"So we're pretty well balanced?" Ahi murmured.

Their Sensei nodded. "Of course. I'm Earth primarily, so I balance out the basic element that you three lack, but I've had enough practice that I can wield other types of chakra. Toki is going to have the easiest time branching out from her types of chakra- because she knows how to use yin chakra. That's what her shadows are made from. But we're not going to branch from our types until you're chunin. All in all, though, you three are a very good mix. I am very pleased."

Toki nods. "I can see what you mean. I'm water and lightning, which in itself is a good mix, and it means I can aid Kushina with her water jutsu when she learns some. My lightning can be used with water jutsu to theoretically overpower earth types of jutsu. Kushina's wind nature can help Ahi's fire nature, and together you two can power up a fire type to possibly overpower a water jutsu. I'm not sure what I can do for Ahi, besides make a steam over with water and fire if need be, but I can see what you mean."

"Indeed." He nods. "You three will work well together, and it already helps that you're friends. You're used to fighting with one another in practice spars. Which also means that I don't have to do a test with you three- you're already going to be able to work together. You'll just need practice at working together in missions. Speaking of missions," he continued, "You'll all be doing d-ranks for a while. We've got four of them to do tomorrow. So, meet me at Toki's house at six am sharp. You're late, you don't get paid. I need to go plan out my week, rent some scrolls to get some starter jutsu for you three, so I'll leave you three to enjoy your first day as genin. It's only going to get better from here."

"Okay. We'll see you tomorrow, Sensei!" Tokiko grinned.

Hige waved, and then both he and Sachi disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

Ahi coughed in it. "I don't see why all Jōnin have to do the stupid smoke thing. That stuff stinks."

"Better than them getting leaf litter everywhere though. My dad does the leaf thing and he has to sweep them out the door when he gets home." Toki stood slowly, and tugged both of her friends up with her. "Alright… So we're going to meet tomorrow for our first missions. You remember the way to my house, yes?"

"Ah no," Kushina mumbles.

"I'll swing by and get you from your house then, Kushina." Ahi grins. "You're such a dork. I remember the way to Toki's place."

"And after missions tomorrow, want to pool our pay and go out for celebratory food?"

The red head perks. "Can we go for ramen?"

"I'm down for it. Ahi?"

The Uchiha nods. "I'm alright for it. But we have to get Toki's Dad to make sushi another for another celebration. Is that fair?"

"Fair enough for me, y'know!"

Toki laughs, and moves to the side of the building. Climbing over the rails, the ninja latches her shadows onto the rail, and starts to head down the side of the building. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. I gotta go tell Dad that I made Genin, and who our Sensei is. Oh! If you get there early enough, I can make breakfast for you too."

Ahi leans over to watch her go down, and then laughs. "Sure! You'll make more of those pan cake things, right?"

"And those waffles too!" Kushina demands in amusement. She had to go see Lady Mito and tell her about her day. Now that she was a genin, it wouldn't be long before Lady Mito had to… Well, before Lady Mito passed on her burden to Kushina. But until then Kushina had no intention of mentioning it to any of her team.

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That night, both Dai and Susumu gave her a gift. Dai gave her another tattoo- a fuinjutsu one across her lower back, one that she insisted was not a tramp stamp- that would allow her to manipulate her shadow out of it, and act as a guard of sorts, or extra limbs. He informed her that he didn't want her to ever suffer a fate like he did, but should it happen regardless, she could use the shadows to control her legs in ways that he could not. When she tried to use it, it just created a wispy bushy bundle of tentacle things that acted like solid tails. It was… A strange thing, but she would find a use for them once she could control the seal later.

Her father gifted her with her first set of ear rings, and a set of new kunai for her to use. Compared to Dai's gift, it was insignificant, but it was the thought that counted. She wasn't part of the main house, but most of the clan still practiced the ear-ring thing. She didn't mind- her father got her black studs, and she liked them quite a lot. They were a chakra conductive metal, so if she put chakra into them, she could make them glow. Not particularly useful, but actually pretty nifty. If she were ever locked in a dark box, she would have some form of light.

Her first day as a genin ended with her stuffed full of good food, and asleep between her father and Dai as they relaxed on the couch while Dai read them some stories.

All in all, Tokiko considered it a wonderfully good day, and was prepared to enter the world of shinobi with her first missions on the morrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**(I have received a surprisingly large amount of followers for this story in such a short time. O.o Hello, followers and stalkers. I'd like to apologize in advance if I make flubs with the timeline- I've been googling out my ass and trying to find a definitive time of when everything happens is ridiculously hard. Also for personality shifts- I'm no master at writing, obviously. Hm… I'd appreciate any thoughts and ideas for things to come from those of you who stalk and lurk silently, if anyone would like to offer any. Reviews are loved, same with favorites and follows.)**

 _For Lauren. She was doing this for Lauren_ , Toki had to remind herself as sweat drove an itchy line down from what she hoped was not her butt crack. She was on her hands, feet up in the air, as she walked along on her palms. Hanging from her feet, were grocery bags that they'd been tasked with picking up. Only they had to do it on their hands, instead of like normal human beings. It was nearing evening, the sun ducking behind the Hokage Mountain, and despite the chill the shadows had, Toki was warm in her 'off to do the d-ranks harmless work' uniform.

Next to her, Ahi wobbled, and would have fallen against her if it hadn't been for the quick activation of the tattoo on her lower back. A mass of shadow tails looped around his frame and kept him balanced, setting him upright before withdrawing back into the seal on her skin.

"Those are really freaky, y'know?" Kushina grunted from next to her. Her long red hair had been braided and turned into a pinned lump on her head. One to many times it had come out of it's bindings, and she'd stepped on it with her palms. She now tasked Toki with pinning it properly before they had to deal with training.

"They're only freaky when they're not helping you," Toki huffed. Kushina was the steadiest out of the three of them when it came to walking on their hands, but even she was wobbling now. They had, of course, been at it for hours after their day of missions.

They were several months into their team training- and into D-ranks. D-ranks paid shit for cash, they found out. Barely pocket change, after the village and the clan took their taxes out of it. Kushina didn't have clan taxes like they did, but it barely made much difference. They hadn't been able to have their celebratory dinners out, but they were saving for the time that they could pool their collective cash and do it together.

There was a extraordinarily large number of D-ranks available, and not enough genin to do them all one at a time. The village was low on ninja within it's walls- so the Chunin were no longer being delegated to do C-ranks either. Toki wasn't privileged to get a lot of information on what was causing it, but her father had muttered to her that he thought there might soon be something bad happening.

She put it out of her mind for the most part- training needed to take the forefront of her thoughts.

The three of them were, by far, one of the better genin teams for doing D-ranks. Not the best- Team Jiraiya had that one in the bag, simply because his team was ridiculously swift. But Team Hige was second best. Gardening, painting, cleaning, short in village courier missions, the three were very good at what they were tasked to do. They did them fast, did them right, and did them without fuss.

For the most part, they used the missions as excuses to train. For example, if they had to paint, it was done without touching the ground, or disturbing the paint. Tree-walking became something they were very good at without having to be instructed much. Water walking to some extent too- balancing on top of fresh paint without leaving shoeprints was a task and a half, but entirely more fun than the group had expected.

Toki wasn't looking forwards to actual water walking- she'd nearly drowned twice when she had been this age in Dina's lifetime. The residual fear of water deeper than her knees lingered. A river, she might be okay. But she intended to stay far away from Wave.

The redhead snorted. "They're freaky even when they're helping me."

"I think they're kinda neat," Ahi panted. "Sort of like a creepy and helpful tentacle monster that lives in your backside."

Toki made a face at them, and proceeded to turn the corner and return to their Sensei. Hige waited for them just around the bend, idly picking something out from his teeth with a clawed finger.

"Fifteen minutes and fifty five seconds. That is ten seconds better than yesterday, but you could have done twenty seconds better instead." Compliment followed by a scolding was usual when it came to timed things.

"Sorry, Sensei." Tokiko responded quietly. She handed over the bags without complaint, and then planted her feet on the ground. Using her shadows, she pushed herself upright, and gave him a flat look. "We'll try to do better tomorrow."

"You'll have to save that for another 'tomorrow'." He snorts. "We've got a mission- we leave tonight. It's your first C-rank. We've got to go to Tanzaku Gai. We're to deliver a shipment of weapons and rations to a group of Ninja that are stationed there."

"Really?" Ahi blinked. "What do they do with it there?"

"They ship it to the boarders of the land of Rivers, and the land of Rain to keep boarder patrols stocked for their rotations." Hige supplied easily. He accepted the bags from the others as they got to their feet, and stuffed them into a storage scroll. It was tucked away into the pocket of his flack vest. "Now, no dawdling. You've got one hour to meet me at the village gates. Take a general long term mission pack- it's six days walk civilian pace. We're going to make it shorter though."

"We're running?" Kushina looked unimpressed. They had spent most of the day running amok in the village, so she had every right to look discontent. Hige had not been dishonest when he said they would be pushed, to become the frontal assault team that he was directed to create.

Hige barked a laugh, clapping her on the shoulder. "Running builds character. Besides, if you're too slow to dodge an attack-"

"Then as good as canon fodder, yes, we know." Ahi huffed.

"Glad we're clear on that. Now, off you go. First out of village mission is a big thing for genin- but it wont be dangerous beyond the occasional bandit, or issue in the city itself. Tanzaku Gai is a rough town. Don't bring any valuables that you don't want to risk losing. Now, off with you."

The team parted, heading to their respective homes. Susumu had shown Toki how to pack one when she'd been younger, so it wasn't much for her to go home to do it now. He wasn't home- he was off at the border of Tea for some mission he couldn't tell her about. But, Dai was home.

"And where are you off to in such a hurry?" The paralyzed man rolled next to her in her room, and stooped down to set her bag on his lap. He began organizing it for her as she handed him the things she'd need. While she got what she needed, he took the moment to pull something out of his pocket and stuff it into her travel pack. There. A few thousand yen would be enough for some takeout if she needed it in town. Or wanted it. Nara travel rations, while better than the general forces, left something to be desired most of the time.

"First out of village mission." She grins to him. "We're off to some place called Tanzaku Gai. It's gonna be pretty cool."

Dai nods, and beams at her. "Since the bandit's have been removed from Tanzaku, it's safer. I'm guessing it's your first C-rank?"

"Yep! Off to deliver some supplies. Will you be okay at home by yourself?"

"I was a Jōnin before I was crippled- I'm very sure I can figure out how to get myself some rice for breakfast." Once he was sure it was set for a good mission, he handed it over, and turned his chair around so she could re-dress in proper mission gear. "Make sure you wear your pants. It's very warm there."

When he was allowed to turn around, Toki displayed herself eagerly. She wore the characteristic dark shinobi pants- the ones that turned your legs into balloons if you didn't fasten the bottoms properly, and a dark navy sleeveless shirt covered in black mesh. The distinctive Nara short coat- though in a dark green, and turned into a vest rather than a coat- adorned her shoulders. Her hair sat in two dark braids, emerald eyes twinkling at him mischievously from her pale-skinned face.

"Mission worthy, you think?"

He nods. "Very. You'll need to watch your braids. Those make nice handholds for other ninja." He leaned up to tug them lightly, and hummed softly. "You have time to put some wire in it? It'll bloody some fingers if they touch it."

Really, she didn't have the time she'd like to have. Unfortunately, most of her time was used up in getting home and gathering things. Braiding wires in took time. "Not really, Dai. I was given an hour, and only an hour." She gave him an apologetic smile, fanged and not all that unapologetic. "Besides, I'd forget and go to fiddle with my braids and slice my fingers off."

A snort left him, and he patted her shoulder fondly. "True that, true that. Still, enjoy your time out. I slipped in a little extra yen in case you need something while out and about, or lose your rations."

"You know you didn't have to do that, Dai." She points out as she straps on her pack. Not like she's going to fuss- her genin pay wouldn't pay for more than a bento at most. "That's your money from tattooing."

He waves a hand as his chair turns around and rolls out of her room. Toki takes a moment to muse that Chakra can be used for some of the most amazing things, such as controlling a wheelchair without hands. Super cool. "Stop your worrying, will you? Enjoy it- it's a gift. Consider it a congrats for your first C-rank."

"Thanks, Dai." She passes by him, stopping only to hug his arm fondly, before all but leaping down the stairs. "Tell Dad not to worry if he gets home before I do."

Dai knew just how disgruntled Susumu had been when Toki had announced that the entire purpose of her squad was to be a frontal assault team. He'd raged- about as much as a motivated Nara can- that Nara were not atypically frontal assault types, because of their low chakra capacity. Toki's only standing argument in that was the fact her chakra capacities were already higher than most of the clan kids of her age.

He could thank her mother's genetics for that.

"Will do, Toki." He waved her off as he eased down the stairs. "Be safe, and bring honor to our village."

She nodded to him, and took off.

 **(123456789012345678901234567890)**

Leaving the gates of the village was invigorating at first, until Hige cracked the metaphorical whip. The 'whip' so to speak, was Sachi. The hound was to run at their heels, and deliver a hard bite to the back of their legs if they started to flag. The genin set off at a sprint, working to keep up with the breakneck speed that Hige set out for them along the ground. They would run for hours, covering ground faster than most genin would have to run.

In truth, this was harder than Hige would usual push. He didn't normally use Sachi as a way to make them do something- but Hige had an odd sense that something was going to happen in the next few years. Call it an animals sixth sense, but Hige needed these three to know what it's like to be run into the ground. What better time to test their limits than when they were within the safe limits of their own country?

Sachi wasn't loud in her chase. She didn't howl, or bay when a student started to lag behind. It wasn't until you felt the air from her growl that you realized you were in trouble. She was the silent and ever looming threat that nipped at their backsides and urged them to go faster. Faster and faster, to outrun the fangs and fur at their back.

Fear was a great motivator, Toki realized as she dodged the sharp fangs of the normally gentle hound. She was the fastest of the three, given the mastery she had for chakra control. Augmenting her muscles with chakra was almost second nature. Pressing forth with a ragged breath, Toki overtook Kushina, leaving her to be the slowest of the three.

While fear kept them going when their legs burned and cramped and eventually passed into the painful numbness that signified overexertion, it was the knowledge that their Sensei was ahead of them that kept them from scattering instinctively to regroup and face the threat panting at their back. And perhaps, Toki mused as she used a shadow tail to throw Kushina ahead of her roughly and out of the path of Sachi's lunge, it was the trust that the three of them were building that kept them together.

It was pitch black in the forest- Toki's internal clock told her it might have been sometime around midnight if not even later than that- when Hige called for them to stop. The three landed at his feet. Toki collapsed to her knees upon her legs feeling the stillness, and Ahi bent at the waist and proceeded to vomit up what little bile was in his stomach.

Kushina managed to rub his back as she stumbled not to fall into the mess, and the redhead glared at their Sensei and the hound that came to sit by his side.

"Good job, you three. You've covered two days normal pace in just under six hours." He clapped grandly to them. "Now, stretch your legs, walk it off, eat your rations, and get some sleep. Sachi and I will keep guard tonight- I'm not cruel enough to make you run so much and then make you take turns keeping watch. We'll run like this tomorrow too. Once you have an easier time keeping that pace, you'll all be stuck on watch rotations. But that's for later!" He hummed cheerfully.

"Sensei," Ahi rasped, "I don't know if I can do that again. My heart was going to leap out of my chest by the end of our run." Still, he wiped his mouth and set to stretching his limbs.

All of the built up lactic acid in Toki's limbs burned. She flooded her muscles with chakra again to wash away some of it, but ended up stretching with Kushina just like Ahi was.

"I'll be joining Sachi tomorrow. I'm going to forewarn you now- anything I throw at you will be harmless, even if it doesn't seem like it. Do your best to dodge anyways- eventually the Genjutsu will be joined by real weapons." He hummed. "Consider this… Hard core training to give you all a swift kick in the right direction. Come the first break tomorrow, I'll be teaching you your first jutsu outside of the academy basic, and whatever your clans have taught you."

"While I'm thrilled for a new jutsu, Sensei, you really are a slave driver, y'know?" Kushina looked better than Toki or Ahi, so she was the one who ambled off to collect some twigs for a small fire to heat their rations.

"Oh yes, I am quite aware." Hige laughed. Their Sensei and Sachi then disappeared into the darkness of the trees to keep watch.

Toki collapsed into the dirt, and dug her shadows carefully into it. A deep circle lifted free, and was set down on the ground near it for later replacement after the night. There, success. Her part in this was done for the most part. She'd have to cook the rations themselves- Kushina was good enough, but Ahi wasn't allowed to touch anything more than instant ramen or eggs until Toki had the chance to put him through the basics of cooking.

Ahi managed to toss her his travel pack before he stumbled over to one of the bushes as his stomach betrayed him again, and Toki winced at his retching. "Better out than in," she sighed, rummaging through his belongings. She tugged out some rice for him, and a container of water to boil it in, and set preparing it.

Kushina dropped the twigs into the hole, and Toki lit it with spark rocks easily enough. They were pleasantly dry, so the fire ate up the welcoming fuel swiftly. It was enough of a heat to put a pot on, which she filled with the dried rice from all of their rations. Everything else was dried for eating just as was.

"Bleugh." Ahi looked moderately green as he came to sit next to Kushina. "That's more running than I've ever done in my life."

"We'll have to get used to it though," Toki mused, "Running is a part of being a ninja. Of course, we don't usually run a million miles in a few hours either, but we'll all have to get better at it for future missions."

"True. And if you keep tossing your meals up after running, you're gonna be wasting a lot of food." The red head snorted slightly.

He made a face at her. "Yeah, I know. I'll work on it. I think it was just the sudden stop that did it- I was okay while we were running. But the lurch from the stop made me a little…"

"Motion sick?" Toki supplied. An Uchiha prone to motion sickness was a hilarious thought, until one actually saw it in action. She felt sort of bad for him.

He nodded.

"You'll have to learn how to handle it." She clicked her tongue, and set the rice to boil.

They were quiet from there, having little energy to banter after such a relentless run. Once they had their meals and buried the used up fire with the carefully removed plot of dirt that Toki had pulled out, the three genin ended sprawled in a pile at the base of a tree. They'd tugged some fallen widow makers over to use the still living branches for a windbreak, and proceeded to pile against each other for warmth and sleep. none of them directly wished to dig out blankets and such, because that was effort that had to be spent that none of them had the energy for.

Morning was fast approaching, and the three of them wanted to get as much sleep as possible before the sunlight made it harder than the darkness. It was little doubt that Hige would be running them again once they roused, and they would be beyond tired by their next break.

With any luck, he would be merciful enough to give them a couple hours rest after they woke and ran again. Toki wasn't holding much hope for it, though.


	4. Chapter 4

**(I am incredibly sorry for this being late. I was in three car sandwich on April First, with our car in the middle of the wreck, and I've been a bit discombobulated after it. I ache. A lot. And I've got a horrible case of whiplash, and what might be a minor concussion. Anywho, I'm going to experiment a little with points of view. Written in third person of course- but I want to see if it's a writing type that I like or that works better than the slightly jumbled mess I've been spouting. Thanks for the views and favorites, and reviews of course.)**

 **(Hige)**

They set off again without eating another meal. None of the three really wanted to end up with the cramps that digestion gave amidst running, and running they surely did. Hige ensured that.

Hige put them under a mild genjutsu a few minutes in, to make the fear they had felt stronger than yesterday, and began to throw pinecones at them in order to continue to mask the other affects of the genjutsu. To the horror of his genin, it appeared to be kunai that was pelted at their feet and other extremities. A little twist of the genjutsu, and he could adjust and amplify the feelings of panic.

A quick Henge, and Hige no longer looked or felt like Hige. He assumed the guise of a rogue ninja, simple and easy. If they glanced back and saw him, it might just help keep them a little more terrified. Sachi was next- and now she looked like a ferocious monster befitting a horror story.

He had his reasons, of course. He was privy to some of the information from the Third Hokage- His team had an important player on it, for the lack of important team mates. He would be training the future Jinchūriki for the leaf, and she needed to be strong to overthrow the beasts willpower. Physical strength would eventually lead into the sort of mental strength that she would need. Her team would add to her strength- the desire to protect them from herself would be a powerful urge. He mused that it would be good for the rest of the team too. Jinchūriki were traditionally damn near invincible. He'd never heard of a regular ninja- like himself and ninety percent of the forces out there- being able to kill them outright.

Both Tokiko and Ahichu were pawns of the village in this case. Ahi was simply a lower clansmen, but more useful for it, and honestly Toki was simply the bastard of a lower Nara clan member. Toki wasn't… necessary to the team, not like Kushina or Ahi. But Hige had wanted her on it, because who better to protect the legacy of the team mate he had failed? Susumu taking her would have been too suspicious, but Hige could do it.

Besides, she'd made it a point that she wanted to be a tank on the battlefield. Being a frontline fighter was practically an Inuzuka legacy, so he understood where her urge came from. He could work with her shadows, and plan to create the sort of tank that she desired to be. She was rapidly growing adept at using shadows. Not so much at shadow binding, but she was rapidly advancing towards the three dimensional shadow techniques like shadow stitching or shadow strangle.

She'd caught his arm with a shadow tail once in practice, and if he hadn't have been able to lift her smaller body up, he would have been stuck in her grasps. Whatever seal Dai had made was beyond genius- and probably not something that Nara Research and Development would have approved of from someone outside the clan. Given that Toki wasn't a main clan member- and rather an outcast of the clan itself- the elders didn't really seem to give too many damns about what happened to her.

Very few shadows he'd ever felt had felt as solid as Toki's.

Ahi was to be used in case Kushina got out of control. He needed his Sharingan to be fully matured for that to happen first, and the boy didn't even have one tomoe yet. It wasn't completely common knowledge that Sharingan could be used to control a tailed beast- but only the truly strong of will could subjugate the beasts to their will. Uchiha Ahichu was no where near the type of person to be able to do it yet.

Which is what the fear was for. Sharingan was usually activated by one of two methods- during a traumatic experience, or with age and experience in fighting. They didn't have the time to wait for age and experience with lady Mito's health declining as it was. Yesterday, Hige had Ahi close. He'd targeted the boy with a vertigo genjutsu towards the end- and it had caught up with him when they'd ended their run that night. Vomiting was simply an added effect of Hige's attempts to stress Ahi's body.

Today, Hige would drive Ahi to obtaining the first tomoe of his sharingan. There was no other option than to succeed- or the group would likely die the first time that Kushina lost control.

Slowly, Hige began to amp up the fear application of the genjutsu. The affects were meager at first, until Sachi began to do her part. Before, she had only made noise when she was going in for a nip. Now, she growled and howled, sounding like more dogs chasing than there actually was.

Scent was a powerful indicator of what they were feeling. Hige could scent their fear- it excited the animalistic side of him. Toki was calmer than Kushina or Ahi, but she was rapidly growing just as nervous and uneasy. It was leading towards a panic, and if he could panic them enough, they would turn and face him with the intent to kill. He hoped it would be enough to encourage Ahi's optical development. Sharingan always seemed to easy to activate until one actually tried to do so.

Another inhale made Hige smirk. He could smell the desperation starting in them. Ahi was starting to truly panic- he kept trying to tug Toki and Kushina faster, though their legs could fly no quicker. He was simply setting the other's off balance and making it harder for them to run.

Toki's tattoo kept glimmering to life in his senses, her chakra ebbing and flowing into it as she struggled simply not to give into her fear and curl her shadow around her in a defensive blob. It likely didn't help he kept nailing her with pinecones along her back. The tattoo had been given specifically to keep her from becoming like Dai- and she knew that. His sharp reminders wouldn't do any good at keeping her calm. Good.

 **(12345678912345678901234567890)**

 **(Ahi)**

It was driving him mad. This terror that made his heart throb, his stomach drop, and his eyes burn with sweat. He had a hand locked around each teammate, trying to keep them in pace with his fright induced flight. They had been faster than him yesterday- but today they had woken stiff and sore. He'd been sore too- but Ahi had stretched more thoroughly than both of the girls had before they'd gone to sleep.

This was a problem, because the growls behind them told him they needed to go faster. Logically, he knew that their Sensei wouldn't kill them- but something kept itching at his conscience, telling him that they didn't really _know_ for sure that Hige wouldn't hurt them. Not for sure. Hige had said that he was going to use a genjutsu on them, to make the pinecones seem like kunai. And he had- they were scary sharp looking, and when they hit, it felt like being stung by a very large bee. Not quite a Kunai sensation, but the general pain was enough to urge them to dodge more of them.

But the sharp stings that came when they failed reminded him that eventually it would be kunai, and eventually their Sensei would be flinging live weapons at them just like he was these pinecones. It was a horrifying thought.

It only grew worse as the hours had past from their start of the morning. It nagged and nagged and grew worse and worse until it was all Ahi could do to not simply abandon them and _flee_ for his life.

His mouth grew sour tasting, his sweat dripping down his face as his chakra cycled in rough, panicky paths through his coils. If he hadn't emptied his bladder before they'd left, he surely would have pissed himself by now.

It didn't occur to him to turn around and face the cause of his fear- they were supposed to run, because they had a mission to do, and supplies to deliver.

So on he ran.

Until a horrifying looking dog came out of nowhere and sank it's gnarled fangs into Kushina's calf, and the redhead dropped like a rock with a loud cry.

His grip on her hand had him dragging down with Toki still attached.

 **(123456789012345678901234567890)**

 **(Toki )**

Kushina going down had brought all three of them to a rather abrupt stop. They plummeted about ten feet to the ground, Kushina being drug down by the sharp fangs of something that was most certainly not Sachi. The red furred beast was something Toki wasn't familiar with, and she barely had time to gasp before she hit the ground and rolled.

Ahi's grip wrenched her shoulder right out of the socket, making a scream tear from her throat as she was pulled in two different directions by gravity and Ahi's grip. The pain of her shoulder cleared her mind just enough for her to roll over and lunge the shadow tails at the freaky wolf. It leapt free from her grasp, and she surrounded Kushina in the tails and drew her close. The redhead clutched her leg in pain, and Toki bore her fangs as the wolf returned to snap at her shadow. She kept herself inside of the reach, stretching her Chakra out to create a few extra wispy tails to guard her legs from behind. It was a primarily defensive seal, after all. The offensive bonus just made it more worth it.

Ahi trembled in front of her, terrified out of his mind. He shivered, looking like a leaf caught in the wind. Up close, he stank of fear to Toki, and she was reminded that he was the one who was most panicked of the three. She wasn't sure why- together, they had each other's backs, and their Sensei wouldn't let them die (or so she hoped). He surprised her when, regardless of his fearful odor no doubt egging the wolf on, he slowly stood and faced down the canine with a shaky motion to draw a Kunai.

The wolf growled and snarled, and was joined by a rouge Shinobi moments later. Toki prepared to fight (because oh god why wasn't her Sensei there, where had he gone and why did he leave them to someone out of their league), glaring at the rouge ninja with a scared tremble to her shadows.

"… It's not forming." The man sighed. "Enough, Sachi. That's obviously not going to work. Look at his eyes. That's tears, not Sharingan." Without forming seals, the shape of the rouge ninja changed, and became Hige. The savage wolf shifted too, and became a sour looking Sachi.

"If you didn't think it would work, why did you have me bite Kushina?" She growled. "Dogs don't have a soft bite, you know. You'll have to bandage her."

"I know." He sighed. Ruffling his hair with his hand, the Jōnin looked nonplussed at the three genin. "I'm sorry for scaring you three. I had my reasons, and you're welcome to be upset with me, but know that I wont apologize for going as far as I did. It was good practice for you, for when you're older and higher ranking."

Ahi gave their Sensei a horrible look, and tucked his Kunai away. Slowly, he slid back into Toki's shadows, and moved to bandage Kushina's leg for her. He said nothing, Toki said nothing. Truthfully, they were waiting for Kushina to speak.

She'd been the one to get the first wound, after all.

The redhead sniffed, wiping her eyes stubbornly against hurt tears. "You're a right bastard, Sensei. A right bastard, y'know? That wasn't nice."

"Shinobi life isn't nice." He responded softly. "That's what some missions are going to be like. There will be a threat at your tail, at your back, even throwing weapons to slow you down. The faster you are, the stronger, the more mentally prepared to handle the fear, the more likely you are to survive, and the less likely I'll have to bury a student." He heaved a sigh, and then proceeded to sit. "Now's a good time for us to stop for a break, no? You three need time to calm down, and for Kushina's leg to rest. I'll teach you three a jutsu while we're here, and you can practice in this clearing."

Conveniently, there was plenty of foliage around, along with a small pond a few feet into the brush. The area was wide enough that they weren't likely to burn the place down, either.

"Why did you want me to activate my Sharingan?" Ahi demanded suddenly.

"Because we'll have need of it in short while." The answer was blandly said, but easily rolled off his tongue. "You're not privy to the information yet, which I think is stupid. But, once it comes to pass, you'll have to learn from Kushina."

"Learn what?" he demanded.

"You'll have to ask once it happens. That's all I am willing to say on it."

The order wasn't obvious in his words, but it was implied. If Ahi continued to press, he would risk punishment. The Uchiha gave his sensei an unimpressed look, and crossed his arms. "Fine. What's this new jutsu that you want to show us?"

"Watch closely, students."


	5. Chapter 5

**(For those of you who have read my other stories, do you think I'm doing alright for a third person story? Or should I switch this one over to first person? I would love a response in the comments.)**

Hige set Toki's arm back into it's socket after he blew through the hand seals for the jutsu he was offering to teach. It hurt, but Toki was old enough to keep it down to a few whimpers. The stressed tissues were swollen, but there was little she could do about it. None of them knew medical ninjutsu well enough to help, more than hinder, the tender damaged tissues.

Toki gave him a dark look once she was done and then glanced towards her teammates. Kushina- her leg bandaged- sat alongside the pond, attempting to do a smaller version of the Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu, before blowing it apart with Wind Release: Gale Palm. She had managed to get a moderate sized cloud of it over the pond in between her blasts of air, but Ahi kept disturbing it by casting genjutsu on her. He had been tasked with learning Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, and he was not quite good about tormenting Kushina with his illusions. She usually broke it fast enough that not all of her mist had dispersed.

Her mind shifted from the pain onto the Jutsu he'd demonstrated for them all. One of them was the Body Flicker- something he informed them that he expected them to have learned before they returned from the mission.

"Many people die because they're pitted against someone who knows this technique," he had told them, "and I'll be damned if you're one of them. You will know this and use it until it becomes second nature. You need to enhance the chakra flow to your eyes so you can see while you do this. You'll need to figure out the balance yourself. It is different for everyone. Ahi- you wont need to do that once you obtain the sharingan."

It was a simple technique- consisting of one hand seal (tiger) and precise chakra control. Toki had a general idea of how to do that, but she didn't want to just leap headlong into it. It dredged up a brief memory (being on the couch with Lauren watching Bleach) and Toki couldn't help but compare it to Flash Step from Bleach. With that thought in mind, she flickered over to the other side of the clearing.

And promptly vomited as her stomach caught up with her.

She would have to work on that later, then.

"That's beyond gross, Toki." Kushina admonished from the pond. "Good flicker though. I didn't see you move."

Wiping her mouth and trying to ignore the bitter taste of bile, Toki did not respond as she considered the Jutsu she was aligned towards. The one he had taught her that pertained towards her lightning affinity was not one that had a name. It involved churning the chakra inside her coils and electrifying her skin, or her weapons. If she could get it to have high enough voltage, she had been cheerily informed that it was useful enough to usually stop the heart of anyone who wasn't primarily a wind type. Alongside that, she was supposed to figure out how to do the Water dragon jutsu. If she could manage it, Hige had hinted she could apply the lightning technique to the dragon to make it faster.

She flickered over to her team- managing to keep her stomach from expunging itself again- and settled behind Ahi as he cast another genjutsu onto Kushina. A careful application, taking a few moments to make sure she mimicked the feel of her chakra to that of Hige's when he had proceeded to zap Kushina, and she decided to see if the zap technique worked or if she had flubbed.

"OW!" Ahi squawked, stepping away from her prodding touch to stand on the pond. "What the hell, Toki?"

"Success!" She exclaimed happily. "I wanted to see if I could zap you."

"Well," he rubbed his upper arm with a grumble, "you did. It felt like you scooted across the carpet in only your socks."

She frowned. That wasn't nearly as strong as she had hoped. "I sorta hoped it would have numbed your arm. But I guess I need to work on it." She shrugged regardless, and then sat down to dip her feet into the cool water of the pond. She took a moment to rinse her mouth- because vomit taste left to stew was worse than just the initial aftertaste- before carefully forming the seal needed for the water dragon jutsu. Chakra leached down into the water, where a nobbly bit of it started to lift into the air. She turned her focus to it, and grimaced as she strained to make it rise and form the shape of a dragon.

"That looks like a very angry noodle." Ahi commented mildly from behind her as she managed to make it hunch over in 'attack' position.

"More like a worm, I think."

"Thanks, both of you. Such encouragement." The Nara sighed. She let it be small, but began to work on the shape of it instead. Slowly, with careful work of her chakra, more water gathered and it began to look more like a dragon instead of pasta. When gazed at her with glimmering eyes, she brought it closer and lifted it from the water. She sunk her fingers into the shifting water, and let herself feel how her chakra was effecting it.

It was strange, as if the water were alive with her essence. If she added just a bit of her lightning nature to it… It wavered with instability, until she was forced to withdraw any trace of electricity that had danced within it.

"Focus now on making sure you can make it move as you need it to. Flexibility first before you try and add a second nature to it." Her sensei murmured from somewhere behind her.

She snorted at him, but did as instructed. Leaving it the size it was- about the length of her leg- Toki fell back on the times she'd watched Avatar with her daughter. Waterbenders handled water as if it were an extension of themselves. There was no reason that she couldn't do that too.

Slowly, she moved her hands, trying to make the water follow her movements. It did, for the most part. It twisted circles, bobbling up and down as she infused more and more of her chakra into it. As it became more and more heavy with her chakra, her control of it became easier than she expected to manipulate it.

She stood, going through a standard set of katas slowly at the start. As it proved to be able to keep up, the water dragon whistled faster around her body as she began to speed up through her practiced motions. It's mouth gaping with sharp looking fangs, Toki brought it full scale around again, and opened her canteen to 'sheathe' her weapon of sorts. Surprisingly, the densely packed water settled into her canteen without issue of space.

Many ninja canteens were usually engraved with various seals for storage, so one could put more water in that could normally be held. Her canteen was no exception. Dai was good at what he did, and he ensured her it would hold a pond or two so if she had to cross the desert, she wouldn't be caught without water and be left to dehydrate.

She thanked him mentally as she tried to draw the chakra from her canteen. The water didn't want to give it up, much to her confusion. "Sensei? I have a problem."

"Hm?" He didn't appear, but she heard him not far off from the tree tops.

"I can't get my chakra out of the water."

He made a noise that might have been amusement. "Water is one of the easiest elements use for the fact that chakra binds to it very easily. You wont be getting your chakra back until you're older- it takes a master of the element to withdraw it fully. Might as well hang onto it, no? You'll have water that'll be easier to manipulate."

Toki frowned, but shrugged. "Might as well make my canteen into my battle canteen. I'll need to get another from Dai." She could start stockpiling her chakra-water that way. "Is it still going to be safe to drink?" She inquired. Idly, she knelt down and began to gather more water to her hands to imbue it with her chakra. It never hurt to be too prepared, after all. And it's not like she didn't have the spare chakra at the moment.

"Of course. It'll be thicker than normal water, but it should quench thirst well enough. And if enemy's drink it, you might be able to pull it out of their bodies and gut them at the same time." He hummed ponderously. "Either way, get good enough with water, and we'll work on teaching you more lightning aligned jutsu. I'm not as familiar with lots of those. So, water it is."

Lightning was his opposite element, if Toki remembered right about the charts shown in school. She understood his lack of knowledge with those. She could work with water so long as it was in small amounts. "Of course, Sensei. Thank you."

"Get good enough, and with your chakra capacity, if you took a mission to Wave, you could cause tsunamis." He continued with amusement.

She made a face. "I'd rather not. I don't like water that I can't see the bottom of." She muttered. Having gathered more blobs of the seemingly solid water, Toki stuffed it into her canteen. The Nara felt depleted- but also felt as if the chakra on her hip was right where it should be. Theoretically, if she needed a boost, she could just drink the chakra water and absorb it through her stomach like normal nutrition.

Hmm… She'd need to test that later.

"Dammit, Toki!" Kushina hissed. "You took some of my mist in your water blobs. Stop that."

"Ahaha, sorry, Kushina." She flushed at the tips of her ears, and ducked her hands deeper down so as not to thieve from the cherry haired girl's mist. "Your mist is doing good. It's very thick over the pond."

"Yeah. problem is, it isn't thick where there isn't water. It's dry everywhere else."

Toki covered an amused snort with a cough. "Not actually, Kushina. There's water everywhere. In the human body, in animals, in plants, deep, deep in the soil. There's water everywhere- you just need to feel for it."

An ugly look crossed the injured girl's face. "Easy for you to say. You're more water aligned than I am. I'm more angled towards wind natured."

"I'm equally aligned, but water is easier to handle. At least you can go pester some of the villagers at home for jutsu. Lightning type jutsu is almost unanimously used by Lightning country natives, and their country and ours don't really get along." Toki splashed at her playfully, and then sat upon a rock. She shoved her feet in, alongside her hands. "Just stick your hands into the water, yeah? Just feel it. Feel it with your hands, with your chakra. See how your chakra plays with it, and lifts it from the surface. It's a lot like moving a solid shadow."

Grumpily, Kushina did as told. "It feels good on the bite," she remarks, "but I don't see what you mean by feeling. It just feels like water."

Kushina jerked suddenly, when Toki sent over a small influx of chakra coated water to brush over her fingers. "What was that?"

"That's what water feels like when it's filled with chakra. Memorize it, and try it for yourself." Toki encouraged.

At her back, she could feel Ahi watching her, and wondered silently what he thought of her method. Slowly, he approached and sat down with her. His feet sank deep into the water that she was charging with her chakra, and Ahi let out a very pleased noise. "Chakra-water feels great on aching feet."

"Aren't you supposed to be practicing genjutsu?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to take a break. Besides, we're a frontline team. We're not going to be planning ambushes or doing intimidation tactics. We'll be sent out where other teams wont, to eliminate the problem with violence, not diplomacy."

"True," Toki admits quietly. "Alright then. Practice your fireballs. I want you to make them small. As small as you can, and as tightly packed with fire as possible. Precision and speed is better than size and it being slow. Try to hit my dragon. We're gonna practice together, yeah?"

As it was, Ahi was better with the hand signs, but his control over the fireball was sloppy at best. It was usually average size- little bigger than she was tall, and just about the same size all the way around. She wanted it to be faster and smaller- more solid. His big one broke apart on contact, splashing easily extinguished flames everywhere. The smaller would blast rough whatever he shot it at, with any luck.

"What about me?" Kushina didn't quite scramble to the other side, but she didn't dally where she was either. They were going to be launching fire balls in that general direction, after all.

"If you make a mist, it'll make it harder to see the dragon, or the fireball." A small shift of plans could include their team mate, of course.

"Right!" The grin that split her face made Toki remember that she and Ahi were the only ones to include Kushina without ridicule- and that made Toki give her a warm grin.

"Ready?"

"Go!"

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Tanzaku Gai was just as Toki figured it would be. It wasn't rundown, but it wasn't shiny and 'new', like some of the sections of Konoha. It was a fairly large settlement, most of the buildings built out of the wood from the forest surrounding the town. Many of them were gambling areas, but other than that, Tanzaku was relatively tame.

The villagers eyed them warily, and shied away from them on the streets as the team of five made their way to the drop off point. Toki and Ahi kept Kushina between them- they had reached the town the day after she'd been bitten, but she hadn't healed much beyond scabbing. She was the weakest of them for the rather obvious limp she had- and neither of them were willing to let her be the victim of any gungho assholes.

It wasn't far to the drop off point, thankfully. It was a small warehouse guarded by more than just a few ninja. As they entered, it was obvious that the warehouse was designed to hold a large quantity of supplies. Rows upon rows of scrolls, all of them labeled for their uses. Kunai, Shurikan, food, water, explosives, medicines, bandages. Each had it's own massive tower- and Toki realized that the amount of things that they were hoarding meant that something was no doubt going to happen.

Her stomach clenched with worry- because she knew what would happen eventually. Kushina's relative youth keyed her in at the start, but she'd have hoped that they could have trained more and become at least chunin before… Before the war came.

"Ah, Hige, I'd heard you were bringing your brat-pack." One of the men in the makeshift guard towers gave the group a friendly smile, and waved them into the inner recesses of the building. "Got our supplies?"

"Safe and sound," Hige nodded. He collected the scrolls from each of them, and then set them down onto a table that sat in the middle of the one roomed warehouse.

The guards slowly gathered around it, and motioned Hige to sit. The genin were left to stand, but not left out of the knowledge that was given freely. "Good." The man from before took a seat at the 'head' of the round table. Crossing his arms over his chest, the man, who bore a bandana over his hair and an eye patch over one eye, began to speak. "It's getting worse out here, Hige. You need to let the Lord Third know that there have been more raids and attacks on the borders. The Sand ninja are crossing through the land of Rivers more and more often. We've lost a few dozen ninja in warding them off. I've gotten word from those stationed along Rain and Grass that the Tsuchikage has begun to make moves against us and against Sand. Rochi was running an order to the border of Frost with a few of my post's nina, and he came back with both of his teams in body scrolls. The Raikage is making a move as well. Another of my men ran supplies to the outpost outside of Wave, and we received a hawk to tell us he was murdered by Mist Ninja. It's looking to be full blown war, Hige- and the land of Fire is going to be part of the epicenter."

"I'm sorry you lost some Shinobi, Daro." Hige's lips deepened into a frown. "We've heard rumors, but we haven't heard anything like that."

The man- Daro- snorted sourly. "Such is the life of a Shinobi, Hige. Just make sure you keep out of trouble. I don't want to see your name in the KIA list." He pulled off his bandanna to rub his fingers through the short sandy locks on his head. "To be honest, Hige, we've been dealing with the lesser nations for a few years now. It's been harder to do trade, and there have been confrontations. Money is running low- they're just as desperate as some of the larger nations."

"You're thinking it's going to be another Great War, don't you?" A grim undertone poisoned Hige's voice, and the genin tensed at both the tone and the words.

Slipping his bandanna back into place, Daro gave them a bleak nod. "You know that my father predicted the second, and my grandfather the first. I've got a feeling in my bones, Hige. Something's going to happen, and there'll be war. And, I think, it's going to be a long and harsh one."

"I will inform the Third." Hige nodded tersely. He stood from the table, and motioned to his genin. "We'll head out now. Take care of yourself- I'll do my best to get Sarutobi to send out reinforcements to the places that have the worst conflicts."

"You do that." Daro nodded. "And be careful on your way back. Bad things seem to happen to the couriers of our messages.

Once they left the building, Toki glanced to Hige. "Are… are we going to war?"

"There is the chance that war will happen. Daro's bloodline has proven… strangely accurate about their gut instincts." He sighed. "Before you ask, yes. Our team will be sent to the frontlines, if war happens. I don't know which one, but we will be at war. I don't imagine it will happen this year, or the next. But if it does, we'll be ready, yeah?"

Toki wasn't so sure. "Yeah, Sensei. We'll be ready."


	6. Chapter 6

**(Since I got one review for response, I'll just roll with third person then. We'll see how it goes. Also, sorry for the long wait. Shit got hectic around here, and I might have forgotten my muse for a time. My Aunt and her girlfriend moved in, and her girlfriend is… weird. It's taking time for me and the cats to adjust to company. My cat, Jazz, dislikes both of them. Le-sigh. Anywho, here's chapter 6.)**

The return trip was just as harried as the initial journey, and the genin had burst into the gate in damn near a panic. They spooked the chunin on guard there, and had briefly set off a chain reaction of panic in the civilians until Hige came strolling in with Sachi, laughing his ass off at the looks he received.

He got a lecture from the lower ranking ninja from it, but it was worth it in the end. Their faces had been beyond priceless.

Once his harried genin had calmed down, he'd directed them to the mission office so they could collect their pay and get started on their mission report. He left them to it, with Sachi remaining behind to make sure they didn't slack off and procrastinate in doing it, and turned to head up to the Hokage's office.

After checking in with the receptionist, Hige had stood outside the Lord Third's door, until summoned in. He had a lot to talk to him about, truly. The unsettling rumors and skirmishes that were getting worse heralded the dawning of the third shinobi war, if the Intel proved true.

The protective seals humming at his back dropped, and Hige took that as his sign to enter. Slipping in the door, he dropped into a sharp bow. "Lord Third, thank you for seeing me with such short notice. We have much to discuss."

The man in the seat was starting to gray more and more, but he still offered a sharp eyed smile to the younger man before him. "Of course. First though. How did your plan go for the little Uchiha? Did his Sharingan activate like you had hoped?"

"No, Lord Third. I failed in that regard- and unfortunately, these three work far better together than I'd hoped. It would be counterproductive if we switched the Uchiha out for one who already has the eyes."

The elder man nods. "It would be, yes. That's not time that I'm willing to let you have for them to build up trust and good relations. My apologies for my interruption- please, go on with what you came to tell me."

Hige straightened up, glancing to the ceiling briefly to collect his thoughts. Stapled to it, was a small piece of paper that had 'The solution to your problem is not up here' scrawled on it. He cracked a smile. Perhaps not, indeed. Turning his gaze to Sarutobi, the shinobi heaved a great sigh. "Intel from many of my sources are pointing to something very glaring, M'lord."

"Oh?"

"There have been a growing number of attacks and minor invasions along our borders, and a severe drop in trade. The attacks and invasions are growing in severity. Several Ninja from Tanzaku Gai have lost their lives on supply runs from many of the great nations."

"Troubling indeed. Continue."

Hige grimaced, well aware the Third didn't like to jump to conclusions. "Daro Fuchimori, son of Suko Fuchimori, and grandson of Nori Fuchimori, has been assisting me from the boarders. He's been supplying me with information, locations of attacks, and where the worst of the skirmishes are. Sightings of headbands from all of the great nations are a troubling fact he had presented me with. M'lord… As much as I hate to say it so soon after the last one… We believe we are heading into the Third Shinobi war, and we don't think that there will be any way to stop what has been already set in motion."

The wrinkles on the old man's face deepened, and he lit up his pipe to take a deep inhale of the calming smoke. Exhaling, the Hokage sat back, and glanced to the ceiling. One of his Anbu had put the sign up there to amuse him, and anyone else who happened to be allowed into his office. It was a good prank- he never did figure out who did it. It was harmless, so it was allowed to stay. "This is a problem, Hige. Our village is still recovering from the second war. You and Daro are absolutely certain?"

Grimly, Hige nodded. "Daro's line is not known for being wrong about gut feelings, M'lord. It is coming. I don't know when, but I'd wager half a years pay that it will be soon."

"This is disturbing indeed. You are aware that should war happen, you will be sent to the front lines, correct? Are your students trained enough to handle themselves should the day come when you're no longer there to teach them?"

"Not yet. They will be soon. I've been pushing them- and I'm going to push harder. Kushina's training with Mito is out of my range, but I'll work on making her body and spirit as strong as possible."

"Good. Make sure your Nara strengthens her reserves, and broadens her knowledge. Perhaps you should inquire to Sakumo Hatake. He's just recently lost his wife, and is at home taking care of his son. He's good with Lighting style jutsu, and might be able to assist her with it. Shame about the Uchiha though. His eyes would have been useful. You are aware that I can't allow Kushina out of the village once she houses the fox, correct? Not until the Uchiha has his eyes, and has proven to be able to subdue her."

Hige bowed and nodded. "Of course. I'll see to it that she's introduced to Sakumo. I'll continue working with Ahi as well. His mastery over his clan jutsu is going well, and I'm going to see about making him the Taijutsu specialist on the team. Would that be acceptable, Lord Third?"

Sarutobi waved a hand sinuously once the other stood straight again. "Keep in mind, Hige, that this team is going to be used for massive devastation and a show of force. I want them all to master- or nearly master- every available skill that they can. They can have their focus skills, but I want them all just as capable as each other in fighting."

"I shall try my hardest, M'lord."

"Good. The next round of in-village chunin exams are coming around. You should enter your lot. Once they reach chunin, they can have access to better scrolls and techniques."

"Of course, M'lord. I was already planning to enter them anyways."

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Once he'd left the office, Hige had taken the time to snatch Toki from the lobby once she was done with her report. As per the norm, she finished first, and then was free for snatching. He'd handle introductions today- it was easier than trying to snag Sakumo later. Sakumo was a notoriously busy ninja. No doubt his lot would be babysitting Sakumo's brat when the shinobi had to leave for missions- as Toki proved more than adept at handling small children and toddlers.

After Minato's brats had given one client's kid food poisoning, it was safe to say that the Number One requested team was not requested for babysitting. Which was fine by Hige- it usually made for easy mission money. Long term babysitting was the best cash- and for the Hatake brat, who was essentially a major target for just being related to the White Fang of Konoha, it would take him being there as well. He'd do the guarding. The kids could handle the kid.

Toki hardly protested as he snatched her up, and stole her away over his shoulder. She was used to his shenanigans- and illogically trusted him that he wouldn't drop her on her ass, or take her somewhere that she wasn't safe. He'd need to break her of that trust eventually. For now, though, it played into what he needed her to do.

He landed at the Hatake household easily enough. The once overfilled clan compound stood empty now, save the main household. There were lights on inside, and Hige politely knocked on the door of the compound, and waited for Sakumo to come answer.

The clan itself used to be massive. They'd had hundreds of members, old, young, and the like. The first, and second shinobi great wars had all but annihilated most of the members. Sakumo's parents had died during the second war. Sakumo, and now his son, were the last of a dying clan.

They didn't have any bloodlines to speak of- not like the Uchiha or the Hyūga- or Hige suspected that Konoha would likely have done a breeding program to bolster the numbers. Other than being excellent fighters, the most loyal soldiers, and having an easier time manipulating chakra that wasn't their original nature, the Hatake hadn't been special.

Most of the empty compound was overrun with weeds and other distasteful things. The Hatake clan summons ran amok there though, at Sakumo's beck and call most days. The clan summons were traditionally wolves, but their animals had begun to interbreed with dogs many generations back.

All the better for it in Hige's opinion. The wolves were assholes. Not that he'd tell Sakumo that. The man had adored the wolves when he was a boy.

"… Sensei, if we're meeting someone, shouldn't I be on my feet so that their first impression of me isn't my backside?"

"Maybe that's your better side to show." He received a thump to the head for his failed witticism, and relented when she started to squirm. Setting her down, Hige stood just in time for the door to slide open. Toki was just a bit slow in turning around, but she managed a polite bow without looking too foolish.

Sakumo had looked better, truly. His usually kind gray eyes were darkened with bags, and his face looked pale and thin. His silvery white hair was limp and he overall looked bedraggled and depressed.

Hige managed to hide his frown at the weak smile that Sakumo gave them.

"Hello, Hige. Who's this you have with you? I'm Hatake Sakumo, but you can just call me Sakumo."

"Hello, Sakumo sir." Toki stood from her bow, and offered him a kind smile. "I'm Nara Tokiko. You can call me Toki though, sir. Hige is my genin sensei."

"Oh is he? I grew up with your sensei. He and I were in the same class for a time. He's quite the handful, isn't he?"

Her smile changed, to a more exasperated look. "Tell me about it. I didn't find out that I was meeting someone until I was dropped on your doorstep."

"Hey," he huffed lightly. "It's a good visit, I promise."

"Speaking of," Sakumo leveled him with a curious gaze. "What exactly can I help you with, Hige?"

"Help me? Am I really so transparent?"

"Just a little, Sensei."

He snorted, but relented. "I was more thinking maybe a trade-"

"Trade?" Toki blurted, interrupting briefly.

"Yes, Toki, trade. We'll do something for him, if he does something for us." Came Hige's droll reply. He continued where he left off, giving Sakumo his full attention. "See, little Toki here is dual natured- water, and lightning. I can help with the water easily enough, but all I've been able to teach her concerning her lightning nature is how to give someone a serious case of static hair."

Hige was relieved when amusement lit up the dull tint to the gray eyes before him. "Is that so?" Sakumo chuckled quietly. "Well, that wont do for a shinobi."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Hige grinned. "So… I was thinking you could teach her and guide her in learning that specific element, and maybe she could do something for you. Baby-sit while you're on missions, maybe?"

"That would work," Sakumo nodded. He gave a relieved smile. "I could use the help. Kakashi is very hard to deal with without his mother around." The nearly two year old child was smarter than he should be at this age, and the boy knew that his mother wasn't with them anymore. It left him in a terribly foul mood. He didn't even want his food- hadn't for a few days.

"I'm good with little kids." Toki blinks up at Sakumo. "I don't mind helping you around my training. I just need to let my Dad know that I'll be here often, so he doesn't worry when he's in town." And Dai too. She might have been a shinobi, but she was still the little girl of the house. Toki suspected she probably would be until the day she died. "Unless Sensei is being particularly harsh in training, I could stop by here by five most days. Perhaps an hour of training when I arrive, and then I can tend to your son?"

"That would work." he nods. "I… I need to get back on the active mission roster eventually. Not for several months, but eventually I will need to. Children take a fairly decent amount of funds to care for. My usual missions can take a long while, and Kakashi doesn't take to other's easily." There were few people that Kakashi liked. Sakumo, Jiraiya, and a scant few others were among that list.

"I can handle him for long days, if he likes me. Only if you don't mind if he stays with my family, though. I wouldn't be able to watch him during training, but we have a family friend living with us that could assist me in handling your son, if that's alright. He's an ex shinobi."

"Ex shinobi?" There was a wary pause.

"Honorable discharge." Toki assures. "He got paralyzed in a fight. He was Hige and Dad's team mate for a while, after my mom died. He's still fit enough to protect, and he's gotten good with his wheelchair. He can get around just fine. His name is Dai. He does shinobi Tattoos and whatnot."

Relief filtered through him. "That would be fine. I would feel bad however, just basically dumping my Son onto you and yours. You're just a kid- and with some of my missions, I would be gone for some time." Months, even. Sakumo was Anbu too. "You would be basically raising him for me when I'm not here."

She almost blurted that it wouldn't be the first kid she's raised, but Toki managed to hold it in. "Then you can leave an allowance?" Toki hesitated. "Enough for diapers and food perhaps?" Toki wasn't going to do the 'make your own' stuff with baby food. Kakashi would just have to deal with store bought baby food. "He's on solids now, right?" Some folks fed their kids liquids until their full teeth came in. The different culture was a lot different.

An allowance would work. Dai… Dai… He'd heard of some ninja who had gotten tattoos from him, and he'd heard nothing bad. Konoha ninja weren't notorious for being bad ninja, either. "That will work." He nods. "I feel like I'm getting the better end of the deal, though. Yes, Kakashi is on solids. General baby food will do. He's very picky though."

"Trust me, you're not. Sensei is a complete dunce when it comes to lightning nature." She offers him a smile. "Besides, think of it like a long term d-rank. You pay me in teaching, and I do what I'm tasked. Sound alright to you, Sakumo sir?"

Sakumo nods. "It will do. When can you start?"

"Well, I just got back from a c-rank today, so… tomorrow? We'll probably be doing d-ranks for an age and a half, so I should be done early enough to come help you with Kakashi."

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

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Tokiko, Kushina, and Ahi completed their first C-rank with ease, and found themselves engrossed in massive amounts of D ranks that needed to be redone since they'd left.

The number of them kept them busy for several weeks- verging into several months in-between various other supply run C-ranks that they were eventually assigned. most of them were closer than Tanzaku Gai, and thus less stressing by far. By a stroke of luck, the genin hadn't faced anything more dangerous than an irate bear, upon which Toki had pissed off with a wayward water dragon. Some harmless bandits had needed killing- which put everyone's kill count over zero, finally. It wasn't as traumatic as Toki had thought- but she still ended up with nightmares about it.

Ahi had to briefly see a therapist, because he felt he had slaughtered helpless people, but he came out feeling better about it. The bandits had families and children of their own, but they'd also chosen to do bad things. Shinobi were the weapons that policed the ones who threatened the lives of the civilians. That meant that the bandits at the time.

They eventually were village bound- Kushina had something to do with Lady Mito, and had a recovery time of several weeks.

Along the boarders, skirmishes were picking up though. It was becoming more and more obvious, even to the genin stuck in the village, that something was about to happen, and happen soon. So they trained, day in and day out. Toki knew what was coming- the other's didn't, but they followed her lead, and together the group worked in tandem. They worked with Kushina, who seemed to have developed more chakra suddenly, but a sudden lack of control over her output too.

They worked, and toiled, and trained until Toki was certain they could handle almost anything below Jonin level, if it came to it. Her mastery over the water dragon was startlingly easy, and she fought with it as an extension of herself, unlike using it for a one time blast like Hige tended to do. It would follow her arms, her legs, her shadow, and she could direct it however she needed. She kept a canteen full of the chakra thick water, alongside her normal water canteen. She was making some progress with Sakumo concerning lightning natured jutsu, but he was busy often, so they didn't have much time to train.

Dai was more than happy to make her a second one, once she gave him a good reason. Alongside that, Toki could manage a minor lightning charge through the dragon, but any more destabilized the chakra heavy water.

Ahi was almost a master with his fire style. He couldn't manipulate it like Toki, but he could use it to blast her dragon into chakra heavy steam, and then invade for Taijutsu. Ahi was truly brutal when it came to hand-to-hand combat. The Uchiha style he had was far different than the Academy style, or even the Nara style that Toki had the use of. The only way they could make him work for a win, was if Toki and Kushina worked together to put his ass on the ground.

They had to do so, often.

Kushina, despite her lack of control, proved to become a chakra powerhouse. She wasn't fast- not like Toki, or Ahi were becoming- but if she could get a hold of you, it was game over. All of that extra chakra- that Toki just knew came from the Fox- funneled into her muscles and all but made her super strong.

She may or may not have broken Toki's arm accidentally, which meant they had to retrain her to be aware of her strength. Many broken bones had ensued from their attempts.

The three of them together kept Hige on his toes. They'd managed to take him down once- by a stroke of luck on their part, before he upped the ante with them, and his skill level changed suddenly. No longer was he keeping himself limited to Jōnin skills only.

The genin were really no match for an Anbu level Inuzuka.

After putting them through their paces for the day, the Jōnin had stooped down to his bedraggled students, and dropped three tickets into Toki's hand. "Congrats, brats." He beamed.

"Congrats on what? You beat our asses, y'know?"

The three of them were sprawled on the ground, in various degrees of grubby and damaged states. Ahi had a kunai stuck in his leg, because his dumb ass had fallen on it instead of executing a correct tumble when he'd been flung.

Toki was slathered in dust that was mostly turned to mud, and might have crushed a squirrel on accident. There was something suspiciously bloody and fuzzy stuck to the back of her sandal.

Kushina had fared better than Ahi and Toki, but she looked like a drowned rat. Being pulled through water by a vengeful water dragon was good for doing that. Hige choked down a laugh, remembering the frantic screech that had left her, and the fact he'd forced Toki- who was strangely terrified of swimming- to go fetch her.

Forceful integration was _one_ way of handling a phobia.

"You three are nominated to take the in village chunin exams." Many other teams were being pushed for it. He personally didn't think that they should be belting out child soldiers like they were attempting to, but everything was gradually growing worse. With more chunin available, more missions could be handled, and they could gain the experience needed to survive outside of the village without him.

"Really, sensei?" Toki looked skeptical, green eyes peering at him with obvious doubt. "We haven't even been genin for a year. Don't we need more experience?"

"Maybe if he hadn't trained us like a slave driver." Ahi groaned and tugged the kunai out. It wasn't deep. He'd go get it healed later. For now, he took a roll of bandages out, and began to tie it around his wound. "I know I'm stronger than I was. We almost had him again today."

"As Ahi said." Hige planted a hand on his hip and looked at his Students thoughtfully. "If you don't think you're ready, you don't have to compete."

It was Kushina's turn to give him a skeptical look as she wrung out her hair. It was getting a little long. She was growing it out because one of Jiraiya's students had said he liked her hair. Hige had laughed when she'd put him in place, but he'd noticed that she hadn't cut it. He'd need to mention that she would need to braid it, or get it cut. Leaving it long was dangerous- especially with how long it was getting. Long hair was easy to grab when left loose. "You mean we could wait if we're not ready like the others?" she was more than ready to advance- her patience with the D-ranks was dwindling rapidly.

"Of course!" He all but chirps, "You're not required to go, but if one of you doesn't, then you all can't compete. And if you don't become Chunin," he grins sharply at them, "Then that means we obviously need to train more."

Truly, the three of them were miniature death machines.

The three of them gave him an unimpressed look. "You're going to train with us even if we become chunin." Ahi snorted. "There's no escaping you."

"That is true, very true. But it would be a different kind of training when you're a chunin. As a chunin, you would be expected to train your strengths as well as keeping up with team training." He shifted and took a seat in front of them, grunting as Sachi fell in place behind him and made a lovely backrest. "As a frontal assault team," he continued, "the village is going to drive you towards Jōnin level skill as soon as possible. Unlike other chunin, your squad will remain together for missions, unless directly disbanded to aid other squads. You wont take on students of your own until you're late into your Jōnin career."

That was different than Toki remembered, but she supposed things would change with her here. "So we're basically just going to keep doing what we're doing now, but at a more extreme level?"

"Sounds about right to me." Kushina murmured.

"With one exception," Hige added. "Unfortunately, Kushina's… condition, means that she wont be out of the village except for dire situations, until she gains full control of it." Even then, it was not a guarantee. The village couldn't afford for her to be taken by another village, or for her to lose control. With Ahi not having the sharingan, it was a risk that no one was willing to take. The Nine Tails was a powerhouse that could decimate them if let loose. For all of their strengths, Toki and Ahi were just human kids. They were no Sanin, no Kage, and not even Anbu strength. "So, if your specific skills are needed for fighting, you will likely be paired with me for missions outside of the village."

The redhead made a face. "That's not really fair, but I suppose I understand." Her fingers fisted on her middle subconsciously. "… Sensei… Shouldn't Toki and Ahi know about _it_ , since we'll be working together later…?"

"I can't tell them." Hige hummed. "Laws for it. You? You're outside of those laws. But you can talk about it when you discuss if you're going to compete. Toki, you need to head off. Sakumo's got a mission. You're on Kakashi watching duty for the next while."

Toki made a face, but nodded. She already knew, but she was the only one who knew that she knew. Ahi was quiet next to her- but he was used to being out of the loop for things. Hige was an ass like that. "Yes, Sensei. I'm assuming we're all released for now?" This would be her first time taking Kakashi. Looks like Sakumo's time off was up. Alas- he had been doing better with his son, under Toki's guidance.

"Yes, yes. The Chunin exams start in three days. You have until then to decide if you're going or not. During that time, take the days off to rest and recuperate. There are many strong ninja this year. You'll need all the luck you can get." He stood, and waved them off. "Go enjoy your time off. If you decide not to go to the Chunin exams, then we'll do some extra… _fun_ training."

Toki shivered. That wasn't ominous at all.

"Alright, Sensei." Warily, Toki stood and helped Ahi up. "Do you need help getting to the medics?"

"Nah," He swatted prying fingers away from his finished bandaging. "I'll go there in a bit. I was thinking we could walk with you to your destination and talk maybe?"

Kushina looped her arm through Toki's, and nodded. "I need to tell you both something anyways."

When Ahi took her other arm, Toki sighed and nodded. She lead them off, taking the least populated roads and back streets towards Sakumo's residence. If it wasn't supposed to be known, then it was easier to keep it quiet when they were alone on the streets.

"So, what did you need to tell us?" Ahi queried once they were deep in the maze that is the streets of Konoha. A few shinobi loitered here and there, mostly busy minding their own business.

Kushina flushed almost as bright as her hair, and she tucked a damp strand of it behind her ear. It took her many moments, before the redhead finally sighed. "Alright. Alright. You two are basically my best friends, so I'm trusting you with this super, super secret thing and hoping you wont think I'm too weird."

"You're already too weird, but we love you anyways." Ahi reminds her. "I highly doubt anything you say will make us think you're anything weirder."

"I'm the nine tails Jinchūriki." she blurts.

Toki simply nods. "Okay." And that was that for her.

Ahi on the other hand blanched for half a second, before he had an epiphany. "That would explain why Sensei has been hounding me to activate my sharingan. Okay. So you're the living cage to a big furry monster that might like to murder us all. You're still you… Aren't you?"

"Oh yeah!" Kushina urges. "I'm still me. Always will be. It's just I can take it's chakra and do… Well, things? I guess. I'm still practicing with Lady Mito. She's not doing so good though."

"Her health is in decline, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" She sighs.

Toki grimaces, but nods. "We'll help as best we can. I don't think I can go toe-to-toe with you if you're using it's chakra. Speaking of… is it a dude? Or a she? It got a name?"

"It sounds like a guy. He's really mean for a big fur ball. He sort of looks snuggly until he opens his mouth." He'd threatened to destroy everything she loved, before she'd caged him tightly inside his seal. "I don't think he has a name."

"You should ask though. It's only polite. He might be a big scary thing, but if he can be mean, he probably has a name."

"I'll ask." Kushina nods lightly. "Can't promise anything though. He doesn't like me. Or anyone, really."

Toki nods slightly. "That makes sense. I can't imagine I'd like anything that kept me inside someone either." She gently bumps Kushina's shoulder with her own, and gives the damp shinobi a smile. "You're really brave for telling us, you know. Thank you for trusting us."

"Yeah!" Ahi grins. "We wont let you down. We've got your back, through thick and thin. You're on your own if you get dropped in a pit of spiders again though."

"And you're on your own if you get chased by Tora again." Kushina quips back.

Toki takes a glance at her fellow Kunoichi, and is glad to see that Kushina looks relieved. Her eyes are glittering damply, cheeks flushed with the effort not to cry. Toki didn't think it was that big of a deal, but she supposed something like that wouldn't be good if it ever got out to the general public. Other's weren't as accepting as her or Ahi. Likely Kushina would have been ostracized, or given different team mates if they had been anyone else. Toki simply smiles, and loops a shadow tendril around to dabble a tear away from her cheek without Ahi seeing.

"Thanks, Toki." The redhead murmurs gingerly.

"So, now that Kushina's big secret's out… Are we going to compete this round?"

"I'd like to compete. What about you, Toki? Ahi?"

"I think we're ready. Toki's strong, and so are you, and I've got the best Taijutsu."

"Strength isn't everything, though. Do we have enough experience?" That was Toki's main question. She'd seen Naruto- the fresh genin had a hell of a time in there due to their lack of experience in the field. And in general. Truly, some of the rookie nine were dunces. Toki and her team were smart, but she knew there were those smarter out there. Minato's team, for one. They were wicked strong- with Jiraiya as a Sensei though it was really little wonder why.

"We might be a little green, but we'll always be questioning if we have enough experience. We only get experience by doing."

"True, Ahi. Very true."

Eyes on her from both sides made Toki swallow, and she sighed. "Look. I'm not sure we can handle it, but I guess you're right. Plus, I really don't want to deal with Sensei if we don't compete. Besides, being Chunin means higher pay for the missions we do." Which meant they could go out to eat more often, or save up for better gear for them to use. The standard gear that they all had only did so much for so long.

"So that's a yes?"

Toki rolled her eyes. "That's a yes. We'll all go sign in when we need to, and we'll go kick asses and take names, right?"

Ahi grinned and bounced on his feet. "Yes!" And ouch, bouncing hurt.

The doorway to the Hatake household loomed ahead, and Ahi and Kushina let Toki go so she could go get her charge. She found the front door unlocked, and stepped inside.

Sakumo had everything set up for her. A bag of Kakashi's clothes, her wrap for carrying him, a pouch of credits, and a few scrolls to work as stand in lessons for him being gone. Kakashi himself was asleep on the couch, curled on a blanket with his thumb in his mouth.

On top of the luggage was a note, and Toki took a moment to look it over.

'Toki,

I'll be gone for a week at most. Can't tell you the details, but you know how it goes. I know the Chunin exams are coming up, and I hate to leave you with Kakashi, but he doesn't like anyone well enough to leave him with them for more than a day. Please, forgive me. I know you need to train.

I've added some scrolls to help you. There's a few minor lightning jutsu in them, one of them medical based. It's a nasty one though, if you get good enough at it.

I left you enough yen to cover the cost of care, I hope. If you have to go over it to keep him happy, let me know and I'll reimburse you.

Take care, and I'll see you shortly.

Sakumo-Sensei

PS. Kakashi's started to show signs of chakra manipulation. Be careful. I found him trying to climb the wall the other day.'

Great. Fussy toddler had started to use his chakra already. Oh well- it wasn't like she or Dai or her Dad couldn't keep up.

Toki was a bit dirty, but dirt never seemed to bother the white haired boy. Which was good- if one worried too much about how they looked, they'd never be a good ninja. Good ninja were prone to getting disgusting every so often. So she slipped on her wrap, tying it in the front and then slipping it around and down to her stomach. Her tank top was thin enough not to make it uncomfortable to wear.

"Kakashi," she crooned softly, stooping over to brush his bangs back. He got grumpy if he was woken abruptly.

Sleepy gray eyes blinked up at her, and he lifted his hands for her to take him. "Okioki." He murmurs quietly. "Daddy go?"

"Daddy go." She nods. He's lifted gently, and settled into the wrap. His legs sit around her hips, and he curls his front over her chest. He doesn't even seem to care that she's covered in dust and flakes of mud, and she gently brushes his hair back as he nestles his bared face against her neck to continue his nap. "You'll be staying with me. Is that okay?" He sits a bit differently on her chest than normal- a quick glance tells her that she's going to need a new bra.

"Ya."

As an adult, back in her old life, Toki had the hots for the adult Kakashi. It was hard to feel like that now, when she'd had to change his diaper once or twice to show Sakumo how it was correctly done. But, she was glad to say she'd seen his face. it was mostly normal, except for a small beauty mark on the lower curve of his cheek near his chin. He hadn't gotten to wearing the mask yet, but he wasn't socialized outside often, so there might not have been any reason for it yet.

Shadow tails curled out from the lower part of her shirt as she moved back to the door. They lifted up everything at the door, leaving her capable of keeping her hands curled around the drowsy toddler at her chest.

"Okioki dirt. Sinky."

"Sorry, kiddo." She presses a smooch to the top of his head, and he grumbles but relents. "I know you've got a good nose. I didn't have the chance to shower after training- but we can go take a bath when we get to my house. Sound okay?" He was little enough that she really didn't think he'd remember seeing her nude when he got older. He didn't even care about where his fingers were curled over, or where his face was nestled. Kids are great like that.

"Mmm. Bah fun." Which was about what she needed to know. Kakashi wouldn't throw a fit because she smelled.

Stepping out of the house, she nods to the dogs that had come to see what she was up too. They'd gotten used to her coming and going, but they hadn't seen Kushina or Ahi before. They were warily guarding the gates. "Peace, friends." She says to them. "They're my teammates."

"Pack?" One of the large dogs murmurs. Not all of them can speak like the humans can, so they usually had to translate for Toki. Unlike Sakumo, Toki couldn't speak canine. Which made sense. Susumu was her dad, and there hadn't been a Nara that she knew of that could speak to dogs. Not even her mom, half Inuzuka that she was, could speak to the other dogs clearly. Half sentences, she'd been told. And she'd had a habit of offending them unintentionally.

"My pack, yeah. They walked with me to get Kakashi. They're safe, I promise. You can meet them later, if you'd like. We're all a little offensive to the nose at this moment." Lugging the packs up with her shadows, she offers them an apologetic smile.

"It's fine." The big one says again. "You'll bring the little master back when Sakumo returns, yes?"

"Of course. I'll keep him safe while I have him."

"Your word on that?"

"My word as a Nara." She promises.

Relenting, the canines return to patrolling the Hatake land, and it gives her the chance to slip out of the compound and to return to her friends.

Kushina leans over to peer at the toddler in her arms. "He's kinda cute." She says honestly. Kakashi peeks open an eye to glare at the redhead. "Very grumpy. Is he always like this?"

"He is, yeah." Toki soothes him with a hand through his hair, and glances to Ahi. "You need to go get your wound looked at, y'know. If we're going to go to the Chunin exams, then you need to be at tip top shape."

"I'll head over now." He grins. "I wish you luck in handling Kakashi. I've heard he's a handful."

Toki snorts. "Maybe for someone who doesn't know how to handle him. He's really not that difficult once you learn his ticks and irritations. Kushina? Do you want to go with Ahi?"

"To make sure the dumb ass doesn't get distracted again?" The redhead chuffs lightly, before covering her mouth. "Oops."

"Baa wowd." Kakashi scolds against Toki's chest.

She chokes on a laugh. "Yes, very bad word Kakashi. But yes."

"Hey, I'm not that bad."

"You can be from time to time, Ahi. Even we know that."

"I guess so." he sighs. "Alright. Shall we?" He offers his arm to Kushina like the gentlemen that he could be, but usually isn't.

She links up with him, and waves to Toki. "Take care of the little guy. Meet up at your place tomorrow to discuss tactics and possibilities?"

"Sounds good to me." Toki nods. She gives them both a wave, and then turns to head to her home.

"Deers?" Kakashi chimes against her neck.

"If you're very good tonight, maybe I'll take you out to see the deer."

"I goo and sees deers?" A mild demand is in his tone.

Toki gently bumps her chin to his head in a gentle reprimand. "Yes, you're good, you can see the deer. That means you have to eat your oranges though, little mister." Mandarin oranges were the only oranges that came in baby food in this world, and it was a good source of vitamins for the little monster. Kakashi was far too fair skinned to go out in the sunlight for too long without ending up being a lobster by the end of it.

He makes a rude noise in her neck, but she laughs. She's learned that it usually means he'll do as asked. He really liked to look at the deer- and he was probably the most quiet child she'd ever handled, so long as no one pissed him off.

Kakashi had a set of lungs on him, yes he did.

It doesn't take long for Toki to return to her house. She didn't have a cradle for Kakashi- but they'd long discovered that he slept better when he slept with someone or something to snuggle. Either Sakumo, the dogs, a stuffed toy, or in someone's arms, Kakashi didn't care. He just didn't like to be alone when he slept. So, for the time being, he would room with her. She didn't have any toys, or pets for him to snuggle, and she wasn't going to thrust him upon Dai or her dad. Kakashi didn't really like her Dad- and it might have been his laziness. If Kakashi wanted you to play, you played or you were on his shit list.

"I'm home," Toki chimes, kicking off her shoes and shaking her hair out of it's braids.

"Welcome home, Toki." Her dad's voice came from the kitchen, and Toki detoured first to set the stuff in her room upstairs first. "I'm assuming you're babysitting tonight?" She'd had Kakashi here for day time babysitting, but not overnight.

"For a week or so, yeah." she calls as she heads back down the stairs. Kakashi is content in not moving. "Do we still have some of Kakashi's food here, or do I need to go get more?"

She comes in to see Susumu ducking into the fridge. "We've got his food, yeah. Oranges, peas, potato, and that weird pureed meat that kids eat. There should be enough in each of the containers to make a good dinner. Will that work?"

"For now, yeah. I'll need to run to the store tomorrow and get a larger variety for him." Kakashi made a rude noise against her chest again, and she chuckled. "You have to eat your oranges tonight, kiddo. Tomorrow, I'll let you pick out one can of any food you want, I promise." She spoiled him just a bit sometimes when he was good. She probably shouldn't, but he didn't have a mom to spoil him. So she'd do it in his mother's stead. "So, what's for dinner tonight, Dad?"

"I was thinking some Udon." He hums. "Sound alright to you?"

"Works for me!" Dai rolls into the room, his chair making hardly a sound. He glances at her, and makes a face. "You are filthy."

"Works for me too, Dad." She chuckles at Dai, and shifts Kakashi. "I am, yeah. Think there will be enough time between now and dinner being done for me and Kakashi to get cleaned up?" The boy had streaks of dust darkening the skin of his face.

"I'm not a fast cook, so sure. Go wash up with the kid, and then we'll get everyone fed up."

"An' en deers." Kakashi demanded.

"Yes, and then we can see the deer. I promised, didn't I?"

"Idn' wannu fragets."

"I wouldn't forget." He was too damn adorable sometimes. Toki waved to her dad, and then toted the demanding toddler down the hall towards the bathroom.


	7. Chapter 7

**(I had a lovely viewer point out that I haven't done very good with the timeline or with ages of the canon characters. To be honest, it's not easy to try and time things perfectly unless you have a definitive timeline, and I have yet to find one. And I can't really fix it now that I'm seven chapters in, without rewriting and editing a lot- and I lost my desire to do so much editing when I had to edit my entire book before publishing it. Sooo… AML is going to be a bit different from Canon for the timeline. Everyone might be a bit older in the long run. So it'll have to do? It is fanfiction, after all. Besides- the older the violin, the sweeter the music. And if you know that quote, you are an awesome person.**

 **Also I am super, super sorry for the wait on this. I got lost on the road of life- and had to stop to help some nice ladies plant their garden. You know how it works.)**

Three days came sooner than Tokiko would have liked. When the third morning dawned- after two hectic days of planning, plotting, some practice executing said plots, and keeping Kakashi happy and well taken care of- Toki found herself woken rudely by a grumpy toddler sitting on her chest. His hair was straight up like it normally was, still just as messy and untamable no matter how she combed it, but his eyes weren't dewy with sleep. Kakashi had been awake for a while. He had his thumb in his mouth, and only popped it out long enough to give her a firm glare, and a demand for food.

So the third morning, the morning of the exams, Toki had found herself running uncharacteristically late. She'd had to feed Kakashi, deal with a minor fit he threw over having to eat carrots again with breakfast, and then get an unhappy toddler strapped to a disabled ninja's front.

Despite having damn near helped raise her, Dai was surprisingly no help when it came to wrapping up Kakashi and securing him. Thus, she ran late, and had to leave before Dai got ready to go out the door.

She only just remembered to grab her ticket on the way out.

The mad dash through the village took shorter time than normal, thanks to the speed training that Hige ritualistically put them on for any mission that required moving more than just down one street. She arrived in time for the mob of genin outside to start moving in, and was awarded with two relieved looks.

"Thank the gods you're here," Ahi gave her a thankful grin. "We thought you chickened out."

"If I chickened out," Toki wheezed, "both you two and Hige Sensei would have put the beat down on me."

"That's very true." The redhead looped arms with the younger girl, tugging her into the mob as Ahi guided them through. "You'd definitely be regretting it greatly. If we had to travel to a different nation next time just because you were a chicken, none of us would have been very happy. At least here, we're all on our own turf, y'know? There's no pressure to annihilate each other."

Which was also true. Toki had seen the inter-village exams in the shows. It had really turned into a battle of elimination- and it wasn't something Toki really wanted to do. In those, there was a real chance that her team and her could be killed- At least in this one, most of the teams would have the decency not to murder you.

The only thing they'd need to make sure of, was that Kushina didn't lose it with her nine tails chakra. Ahi didn't have the sharingan. It wasn't something that they could handle yet- and getting the hell out of the way would be their only option. But she had good control- all she needed was to keep grounded. She was far too easy to rile.

The mob of genin were guided through a bunch of halls, and up some stairs. Toki caught flashes of familiar faces- ones she hadn't seen much of since their time in school- and familiar hair styles. Minato was really the one she could remember the name of- but no one seemed vested in talking to her, so remembering names wasn't a necessity.

From the stairs, Toki spotted their room. They had to give their tickets to a Jōnin, and given a numbered piece of paper in return, before they were allowed in. The room itself was large- with many rows of seating that were rapidly being filled as genin found their matching numbers. Toki grimaced. She spotted her seat- she'd been given number three hundred and ninety four. The numbers were obviously randomized- there weren't even that many seats. But she could see another kid with a number in the eight hundreds, so it was probably just to mess with them.

Tokiko quietly found her seat on the left side of the room, four rows up and right next to the window- Ahi was number eighty four, and up in the first row, Kushina just two rows behind him at number one hundred and ten- and settled down to get her bearings. From what she understood from the original anime, the goal was to cheat.

Toki disliked cheating, unless it was in combat. Sometimes cheating was the only way to get what you wanted. A swift kick in the balls was often a good way to bring down Ahi when he was kicking their asses with Taijutsu, after all.

"Ah, hi Tokiko." A bashful voice drew her gaze, and she was momentarily blinded by highlighter yellow hair.

"Hi, Minato." She offers him a wry smile. "Please tell me you're not number sixty nine. That's a horrible, horrible number." And not a reference she hoped he understood.

From his grimace, she could tell that he did understand her reference. "Aha, yes. I am fortunate to be your neighbor for this test- but not quite so fortunate with the number. Jiraiya Sensei will never let me live this down."

"Neither will Kushina or myself." She flashes him a sharp grin.

Minato snorts, and settles down. He brought with him a pencil- and an extra, which he passed to her. "You know, it hasn't been that long since we've been out of school. What was the first rule of classroom work?"

"Bring paper and something to write with." Toki rolled her eyes and snatched the pencil he handed over. Really, it wasn't high on her priority to keep writing materials with her. What was she going to do with a notepad? Give them a paper cut? Not likely. At least a pencil was useful- and briefly she was appalled to realize that she really had become accustomed to fighting and violence in this world- because a pencil could be used as a throwing weapon, or to stab someone in an emergency. "Pardon me for forgetting. I've been very busy with actual training and missions."

"Sensei keeps me busy too, but I do most of my team's paperwork after missions and training. Outside of Sensei, I'm the only one who can put together a legible report. Toka and Noboni have horrible handwriting." He settles, turning so his back was towards her- it was an odd move, because it implied he trusted her to watch his back- and settled to watch the rest of the genin settle around them.

Perhaps Minato was a bit too trusting for his own good. Toki should probably correct his error- but there was really no need. They were of the same village- she'd have watched anyone's back, truly.

Next to Minato was an empty seat, and then Shikaku on the end. Inoichi was in the front, with Chouza somewhere near Kushina. The jolly teen was offering a snack of some kind to the redhead- much to her distaste. With a brief glance to the label, Toki figured out why. Gravy and chocolate flavored chips did not sound appetizing at all. The proctors had really done a good job of splitting up the teams and making it damn near impossible to cheat.

"Something the rest of your team needs to work on then. At any rate- it's not fair to you that you're stuck as the official paperwork ninja."

"Paperwork ninja?" He inquires lightly.

"Yes. Perhaps that will be your moniker. Minato- Most reliable paperwork ninja."

"More like fastest of the generation," Shikaku snorted from the end of the table, his voice quiet enough to keep his words between the three of them. "There have been murmurs that you're cooking something up that's very impressive."

"It's not finished yet." Minato gave a sheepish grin. "But I hope to make travel easier with it. It's not supposed to be common knowledge though."

"It's not." the other Nara watched them intently. "I've heard some things while in the hospital. It's nothing overly big."

Translation: Shikaku had been listening in where he shouldn't be. Sometimes the boy's intelligence unnerved Toki. He might have been some hugely distant relative- even more so by the fact she was a bastard and not born of Nara with Nara relations- but it didn't mean she got to know him. She'd not got to spend time with other Nara children on account of her status. She might have been mildly jealous- mostly because she'd been ostracized, and none of the other children there had really reached out to their distant cousin. She'd caused more problems for her father than she'd solved when it came to the clan.

She wasn't overly fond of the clan heads- and she was shamed to say it bled over into their children. She didn't even know Shikaku, really.

"Ha, yeah." Minato looked vaguely nervous at the gaze, and leaned back towards her slightly as if he'd be saved by her.

Toki leaned around and gave the next Clan head the stink eye. She crossed her arms, and the flat stare she gave him would have had Kakashi looking abashed. She knew it too- she'd used it on him when he was doing something he shouldn't be doing. "Leave him alone, Shikaku. He's of no interest to you- stick with your laziness."

"Ah yes." His gaze shifted to her, and Toki felt a tremble of wariness go down her spine. She'd need to be careful- If anyone were to think her odd or not like someone her age should be, it would be Shikaku. "The Nara with drive. Tokiko, right? It's good to see another of Nara blood here."

"Half." Toki clicked tartly. "Surprised to see you though. Thought it would be too much work for someone like you."

His eyes gleamed. "You seem to know a lot about me when I know very little about you."

Another flat stare met his gaze. "You're the next clan head. I'm a bastard child. I'm one of the hushed secrets the clan likes to keep out of sight. Of course you're not going to get to know me. I know a lot, because like you," she tapped her ear smugly, "I listen and I see. While the rest of us genin are slaving away, you like to sneak off and slack off laying on rooftops. What do you even do up there anyways, besides getting the world's worst sunburn?"

He groaned and turned away. His head dropped onto the desk with a muffled thump. "You sound like my mother. Nag, nag, _nag._ Ugh. For your information, I meditate and cloud watch."

Toki said no more to egg him on- the Shikaku she'd known in the show would have already had her secrets or would have talked her out of them. It was really difficult to sit here and realize that this boy wasn't even a fraction of his potential yet. Or at least, had yet to show it. And really, Toki mused, he didn't deserve her ire. It wasn't his fault he was born to the clan head- or hers for being born as an illegitimate child.

She sighed. "It sounds nice. Hige's a slave driver, and if you slack off, you go to the hospital." If you didn't jump into work after the first shot of the Kunai, that was.

Minato piped up curiously. "Why don't you just hide from him if you want a break?"

Toki gave him an incredulous look. "Have you ever tried to hide from an Inuzuka? Maybe when I'm a Jōnin or higher, I might be able to. But now? No chance in hell. He'd track me down and beat me like a rug for shirking my duties."

Minato snorted a soft laugh. He went to speak, but was interrupted as the door of the room slammed open in it's track.

A pale blond man came into the room, icy blue eyes roving over them stiffly. He wore a trench coat and the typical ninja shoes in a dark blue. Toki couldn't see anything under the closed front of the coat, and didn't have a chance to observe him more before he was briskly walking up the rows.

A specific number of sheets was set at each row of desks, before he moved onto the next ones.

"I am Inojiin Yamanaka. Today, I will be your instructor for the test. Pass those papers to your fellow shinobi in your row. If you are short paper, let me know." As it happened, no one was short a paper. He looked smug, as he reached the front of the room and took a seat on the desk in front. "You will have one hour to complete the test- Anyone who fails to finish the test will not be continuing with the second part of the exams. Now. There are some rules you need to know about. One- no sharing answers, as if that wasn't obvious. You've been placed away from the team for a specific reason. Two- If you're caught cheating up to seven times, you will be expelled from the remainder of the exam. Three- If you need to use the restroom, raise your hand and you will be quietly dismissed. For those of you Inuzuka with young ninken- one window will be left open for them to go do their business without you needing to leave every few minutes. Four- if one of your team fails or gets caught, you might as well quit too. Only a full team can pass this test. Any partials will have to retake the test next time."

He shifted in his seat, checking a watch he had hidden on his wrist. "There are nine questions on the test. They are not easy- make no mistake. Once you've finished them, turn your paper over and wait until either everyone is done, or the time is up. For those few of you I see who didn't bring pencils- grab your Kunai. You will need to find another source of ink to write with. I'm sure you already know what I am hinting at."

Five genin groaned to themselves and took out their own knives.

Three other's raised their hands, but only one of them spoke. "Ah, Inojiin Sensei, we don't have Kunai on hand."

"Test hasn't even started yet and you three are already disqualified." Three sharp gasps made their way through frustrated mouths at his announcement. Inojiin tosses them each a Kunai anyways. "Get out. Maybe you didn't have weapons prior to this- in which such case I will be having words with your Sensei about proper genin conduct. At any rate, you have a weapon now. What self respecting shinobi doesn't carry a weapon on them at all times? I suggest you learn to live with kunai, or your weapon of choice. Learn it, love it, sleep with it if you absolutely must. If you three return next time and pull the same fucking stunt again, you'll be ousted to Genin Corps."

As it would be, the three of them that stood were on the same team. They skulked out of the room without another word.

Toki shivered. Writing in blood was gross, and she's glad she brought her usual gear with her even if this was just a test. She shifted her foot out to bump Minato's leg, and gave him a faint smile of thanks. Inojiin was, as far as Toki could guess, probably from the Torture and Investigation division. It made sense that he wasn't… child friendly.

"You may begin."

Most began to write- the sounds of pencils setting onto paper was unanimous.

For those who had failed, there was a series of grunts, before the soft 'skree skree' of Kunai on paper sounded.

Toki risked a glance up from her own work.

Blood made a surprisingly good ink on a bladed weapon.

 **(1234567890123456789012345678901234567890)**

The test concluded easily enough- two other teams had been eliminated for cheating.

Toki had solved most of the questions easily enough- the one she got stuck on, she might have cheated off of Minato to answer. The blond was sure a trooper- he didn't even fuss as she latched onto his shadow and copied what he had written. He simply gave her a wry smile, and flipped his paper over once he was done.

It was a long twenty minutes that she had to wait though. Sitting in a desk and doing nothing was beyond boring.

Once the timer on Inojiin's watch went off, all the papers were handed up, and Toki returned Minato's pencil with a thankful smile. Those not smart enough to have brought pencils were bandaging their hands.

"Now you can choose. Do you choose to answer the tenth question? Or do you wait and try again next year? If you're not sure, you'd better wait. If you answer it wrong, your career as a ninja will be over. You'll have your genin status removed, and become nothing more than a slightly powered civilian."

For some children with clans, it didn't really matter- their skills would be put to use within the clan, either cooking, managing stores or farms, or cataloging libraries. But for many, like Toki, the question was a serious one.

She shared a glance with Ahi and Kushina, and nodded. They would answer the question.

No one left- and when Inojiin was sure no one was going to leave, he leaned back in his seat and laughed heartily. "Good job. You all have passed the test."

A collective noise of befuddlement left the general gist of most of the genin in the room.

"There is no tenth question- Just an attempt at weeding out anyone else who is too cowardly to deserve the rank of Chunin. Now anyways- don't relax. You've passed this one- but your next test is with Orochimaru."

Looking just as creepy as Toki remembered, although a fair bit younger, the snake sanin appeared in the doorway and gave them all a terse look. "Yes, follow me. Your next test will be in Training Grounds Forty Four. We leave immediately." He gave them no actual chance to disagree, before turning and heading back out the door. "Those not prepared at all times to be a ninja will have a harder time in the forest of Forty Four."

Toki stood, making her way to Ahi and Kushina. Minato was at her heels, worry gracing his face. The two teams fell into step, grouping together into a small bundle of six as they made their way after the fast striding Orochimaru. "Do you all have ample supplies?" He whispered.

"We didn't bring food rations," Kushina sighed, "But we're decent hunters. I'm sure we'll find a bunny or something to eat, or Toki can snag us some fish with her dragon."

"We'll manage." The Uchiha of the group gave Minato a slight smile, an inkling of knowing dancing behind his obsidian eyes. "What about your team?"

"We're pretty well prepared." He nods. "I've got plenty of food rations for my group. If you want… We could give you some?"

Before Kushina could snap something not so kind to the blond man- as she was wont to do when she assumed anyone thought that she wasn't competent enough to take care of herself- Toki shook her head and gave him a dry smile. "Thanks, but no thanks. We might be a bit spoiled, but we're used to eating the ration bars that my Dad and I make. We'll make due with some rabbit or fish."

Minato didn't look happy with that, but he nodded none the less.

The chatter fell off as Orochimaru urged them into a fast sprint. It didn't take long for them to reach the training grounds at the speeds that the Sanin forced them to. Before long, the forest of death loomed ahead. It was bright outside, not even noon yet, but the trees were so thickly grown, the tops so tightly woven, that it seemed almost dusky inside. No life form was visible near the massive chain fence that surrounded it, broken only by the massive gates that allowed entrance, but the distant sounds of animals fighting drifted out now and again.

Ahi shivered. "I don't like the looks of this place."

"As you shouldn't." Orochimaru replied, turning to face the large army of teens and children. He crossed his arms, motioning with an angular chin towards the shack next to one of the gates. "Over there is where you will be picking up your tickets and the number of the gate that you will be entering from. No- there is no gate that is closer than the other. The tower is at the center of six miles of terrain. Six miles might not seem a lot to think of, but trussssst me, you'll be wishing it was shorter. Now, your ticket is the key to getting into the tower at the center of this forest. Once there, you will be able to activate the seal on your ticket, and it will bring you back here. The trick is, you need three tickets to leave. One for every team member. You will only be given two tickets, and if they are destroyed or taken from you, then you're out of luck.

"You will be given one week to get to the center of the forest with your ticket. If the time comes to pass, and you have not succeeded, or if all of the tickets have been used or destroyed before the time is up, then you will be retrieved, alive or not. Any who die will have their bodies presented to their family, as per the norm. If anyone on your team is incapacitated or killed, your team will be disqualified, and you will have to try again."

It fell silent as he stopped speaking. He seemed to be observing all of them, assessing their possible worth and growth. The look that came after seemed to be unimpressed.

"You may begin. One at a time, teams may go collect their tickets."

Since Toki's team was closest to the booth, they went first, stepping into the hut as one. Minato's team settled just outside, waiting for their turn.

"Team eight, reporting in." Toki announced, watching the proctors lightly.

"Welcome. Here's your gate- you'll be heading out of gate one." A slip of paper was handed over, before the man behind the desk leaned down to pick up two small scrolls. "These are your two tickets. You've got a couple minutes to figure out who will carry them."

Toki took everything at hand, and looked to her team with a questioning glance.

"You take them, Toki." Ahi nodded. "Kushina and I will keep you guarded, right?"

Kushina gave a wicked grin, pounding her fist into her palm eagerly. "Anyone dumb enough to try and take the tickets from you will have to deal with me, y'know!"

Toki simply grinned. Her team was great like that. "Thanks, guys." The tickets were tucked into her pouch- which was directly guarded by the lovely tattoo on her backside. After checking to make sure there was no telltale bulges in her pouches that would give her away, Toki linked arms with the duo, and trudged out of the hut. Minato's team slipped past her, and she gave them a vague smile, her attention on her team. "Lets go get into position. We have to track down one more team and steal their ticket."

"Who should we go for?"

"Whoever crosses our path, I suppose."


End file.
